The Ashes: Ponting Rubs Salt in Old Wounds

It was precisely the accusation England had been dreading. "This Test has a lot of similarities to other first Tests of Ashes series," said Ricky Ponting last night. The plaster on his right cheek, a reminder of the first-morning assault by Steve Harmison, told a different story. But it was one whose narrative had run dry on the first day.

England's Thursday morning euphoria felt a world away yesterday as the Australians downed their celebratory tinnies on the team balcony and wandered on to the Lord's square with their wives and children. Ponting would not rule out a 5-0 win and was more than happy to invoke the ghosts of Ashes past.

"They made some mistakes at pretty crucial times and the Clarke catch was one of them," he said, referring to the Kevin Pietersen fumble that cost England 70 runs and plenty more in sweat and tears. "It's hard to say that a dropped catch is the turning point of the game but it gave us the momentum.

"They dropped seven or eight in the game which has happened in other Ashes Tests, particularly early on in the series. The gap between the sides in this game has been quite vast."

The re-opening of old scars has been a constant refrain throughout Australia's 16 years of Ashes dominance but yesterday Ponting tried to inflict some fresh ones too.

"Vaughan played superbly against us last time but he wasn't captain then," he said. "I don't think he likes facing Glenn McGrath to tell the truth. In the one-day games I had the feeling that Glenn was all over Michael. I can see him bowling a lot more to him over the rest of the series."

McGrath was not inclined to disagree. "I enjoy bowling to him and he's got a bit of work to do. If you can get on top of the captain, you can get on top of the team. The West Indies side of the 1980s did the same."

It is a comparison that might send a chill down the spine of every England player. They arrived at Lord's hoping to compete and, for a few heady hours, did precisely that. But, when the game was in the balance, it was the stature of the Australians that tipped the scales.

"For us to put on over 100 on Saturday morning was vital for us," said Ponting. "The game was almost 50-50 but then we put it out of England's reach and that was the real difference."

Vaughan had to concede the point. "When they were 100 for three we had an opportunity to take and we didn't take it," he said. "That was the story of their second innings. We created enough opportunities to maybe chase down 250, which would have been a more reachable target."

Could England win at least two of the remaining four Tests and reclaim the Ashes? Vaughan's answer was telling. "I think that there's a real opportunity to go out there and play some good cricket against them," he said. It was hardly a battle cry to make the hairs stand on end.

The England captain did his best to look on the bright side, which was understandable but felt rather hollow. He praised the batting of Kevin Pietersen, who emerged from his debut Test with an average of 121, and pointed out that England had created wicket-taking chances. But the cons column extended well beyond the pros and his admission that "we weren't good enough" had the quality of a broken record.

One of the few moments of animation came when Vaughan was asked about the absence of Graham Thorpe. "These are a young set of players, so let's give them a chance," he said, bristling. "They've lost one game. Let's go to the next game and try to improve." It will take quite an effort.