Ashes: 'England must fix problems or Australia will be out of sight'

There is not one person who I have spoken to, or piece I have read, that said England would win the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.

I say that not to excuse the defeat that will surely come on Monday, but to add some realism to the result.

The frustrating part is that there were a number of times in the match when England were competing very strongly and could have put Australia's 29-year unbeaten record at the Gabba in serious danger.

Australia are certainly beatable, but there are things England must address.

The way batsmen got out, falling for obvious plans, was really disappointing.

Over the course of their two innings, England had seven players get to 38, yet no one went past 83. Those scores do not win Test matches.

England must take their lead from Steve Smith, the Australia captain who would not get drawn into the traps that were laid for him. He made 141 not out.

On the subject of those plans, Joe Root's tactics attracted a lot of attention, mainly because of his unusual field placings.

Some of them looked very funky, but there were times when England tried to be too clever rather than doing the orthodox things. Only when plan A fails should you start getting cute.

An extension of that is the business of James Anderson hardly bowling after England got Australia seven wickets down in the first innings.

We still haven't got to the bottom of that - because England claimed he wasn't injured and he took the new ball in the second innings.

If what they say is true and it was a tactical decision, it was a massive mistake.

Jake Ball faced five balls - all of them short - during his brief innings

And then there is there is the tail, blown away twice. In the first innings England lost their last six wickets for 56 runs; in the second they lost the last four for 10.

On both occasions, Australia took their wickets largely through hostile, aggressive, short-pitched bowling.

On that, I will say the treatment dished out to Jake Ball - five deliveries, all aimed at his head - should have been called intimidatory by the umpires, who could have limited the number of short balls he received.

Instead they did nothing, giving Australia the green light to use those tactics for the rest of the series. For that reason, England will continue to get bombed and therefore I expect the tail will repeatedly be demolished.

From the bowling point of view, Anderson and Stuart Broad have bowled beautifully in Brisbane, but the way David Warner treated the rest on the fourth evening shows the gulf that exists in the England attack.

Moeen Ali's off-spin is a concern, which makes the selection of 20-year-old leg-spinner Mason Crane all the more baffling. Would they really bring Crane into the side if they decide Moeen can't be the sole spinner?

Can they find some pace from somewhere?

Mark Wood is with the Lions and will play a game in Queensland this week.

If he gets through that, I would like to see him join the senior squad in Perth, because England need an option to rattle the Australians.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for England.

The inexperienced members of their top five performed well in Brisbane. Yes, none of Mark Stoneman, James Vince or Dawid Malan converted their first-innings half-centuries into hundreds - but they can take confidence from their efforts.

In the second innings, Stoneman in particular showed himself to be incredibly courageous when he was getting peppered by the rampaging home pace bowlers.

If you somehow find a way to remove Smith, Australia's batting is fallible and the next Test in Adelaide - under floodlights with the pink ball - looks like a great opportunity to get back into the series.

The southerly wind will make it chilly and Anderson and Broad should enjoy the conditions. If England find themselves bowling at the right time, they have a real opportunity to get into the Australia top order.

The concern was that if England got completely dismantled in Brisbane, they would travel to Adelaide in no shape to take that chance. That has not happened, so the series is there to be levelled.

Still, there is pressure because if England lose the second Test, it would be very hard to see them coming back.

At 2-0 down after two matches, with a trip to Perth to come, the Ashes would be as a good as gone.

• Report: England on brink of defeat

• England need to score big hundreds - Vaughan

• TMS podcast: Any positives for England?

Bairstow allegations worrying

Bancroft and Bairstow seemed to share some banter during Sunday's play

This column was originally written before we learned of the alleged incident between Jonny Bairstow and Cameron Bancroft.

Clearly, following the Ben Stokes affair, this is worrying - Bairstow was fined and warned for his behaviour on that night, even if there was no suggestion he had anything to do with what later took place.

That the England and Wales Cricket Board said it "understands the context" of what happened in Perth four weeks ago is noteworthy. I have heard from a member of the England squad that there is another side to this story.

Still, it comes at the end of a disappointing day on the field for England. The players are upset about it and feel there are some mind games going on - but until the investigation is concluded, we simply will not know the truth.

For now, we must assume Bairstow will play in the second Test in Adelaide and so what I believed to be true before the news of this investigation broke still stands.

Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt

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