We have all been in England's shoes: A good side at the hands of a huge defeat. How the English fight their way out is a good case study for the teams that we coach.

England are not in unfamiliar territory. They are used to chasing a series after losing the first test match of the tour, It's been happening for years; it started on my watch unfortunately! As the perennial bad starters into fast finishers, England are the Usain Bolt of cricket.

Looking at the facts, England have been undefeated in 55% of overseas Test series in the last 11. However, they have won the opening Test once since 2006. England Coach Andy Flower thrives under this type of pressure, he knows that his team are slow starters and most importantly, history tells him that England fight back well after their slow starts.

So where do they go next, and what can we learn?

Fight fire with skill

All the talk in the England camp will be about "skill" not "mouth" or "brawn". If they try to compete in this area then Australia will have already won. They must concentrate on their skills and methods.

Specifically, batters will be working on methods to play:

• Mitchell Johnson's left arm quicks.
• Nathan Lyon bowling off spin around the wicket.

The lower order in particular will focus on the short ball and finding a way of coping with short periods of sustained 'chin music'. Johnson doesn't bowl long spells so it's about short-20 ball competitions. Find a method, see it out, Australia will have to make a change.

The Johnson attack is uncomfortable, yes, sustainable, no. Flower will want his players to be honest about their lack of comfort and find a way to defeat the Australian plan. No sledging required.

Analyse then execute

Bowling wise, the attacks are both strong, yet the thing that has impressed me with Australia is the specific planning for each batter coupled by the relentless drive towards those plans by each bowler. It's been brilliant to watch.

In terms of overall skill, England edge it. In terms of bowling plans and execution Australia are winning hands down and have done for the last 4 Ashes Tests. England need to step up to Australia's level if they are going to compete.

With a long series ahead, there is still plenty to play for on both sides. Ashes Test cricket is the best game in the world!