England v Australia A - Final day

Ultimately, this was a comprehensive vistory for England. I wrote last week that we would know more about their prospects, and about their batting line-up, after this game, and they delivered on all fronts. I can’t remember a better start to any tour, let alone an Ashes one, with all of the starting eleven having played a decent amount of cricket with reasonable returns and those reserve players who have had a game having also had some good moments. This looks a confident, settled, well lead team that is ready for the challenges ahead.

Good day

Cameron White

There is an increasing wave of popular support for Cameron White to replace Ricky Ponting as captain once this series is done and dusted. This would be most un-Australian, since they have always prided themselves on appointing captains who would be guaranteed of a place in the team, and that certainly isn’t the case with White. He played very well here, though, and will have done his cause some good, although whether or not that’s a good thing for Australian cricket may remain to be seen.

Chris Tremlett

Tremlett followed up his strong first innings performance with three wickets, including two in two balls to knock some of the stuffing out of Australia A’s fightback. He looks fit and is bowling intelligently – the first choice seamers won’t be looking over their shoulders but the management will be reassured that they are well covered in case of injury.

Bad day

Steve Smith

On the day that he was included in the trimmed down squad for the first test, Smith would have been looking to make a mark on the game. As with Usman Khawaja, anyone can be dismissed first ball, but bowled leaving the ball is never something to be proud of.

Ajmal Shahzad

Having started the game well, it has become increasingly apparent why Tim Bresnan was selected ahead of him. He hasn’t bowled badly, and definitely has great promise, but should be looking forward to a winter with the performance squad.

Champagne moment

Phillip Hughes was looking well set on 81 when he flashed at a ball outside off stump. Andrew Strauss’ slip catch was not only important in the context of the game but was also an absolute blinder.