Oval was no perfect storm

In the Guardian, Mike Selvey analyses England's massive defeat at The Oval, highlighting the bowlers' inability to get the ball to move and the faulty techniques of some of the batsmen.

Bad decision-making and poor techniques cost England wickets, with bad judgment of line, the diagonal bat shots evident by the number of drag-ons, poor choice of the sweep in the second innings in the case of Andrew Strauss – who appeared to panic against Imran Tahir – and Matt Prior, and the way in which Kevin Pietersen's soft self-inflicted first-innings dismissal when set exposed new batsmen to the second new ball, as did Bopara's in the second innings.

Stephen Brenkley writes in the Independent that England have what it takes to bounce back from the loss in the first Test.

England have lost by huge margins often before. They spent most of the 1980s and 1990s being pushed from pillar to post by West Indies and Australia respectively. But that was then, when they were frequently a team of modest talent and aspiration, and this is now when by dint of gifted players, conscientious selection, hard work and attention to detail, they have become the world's number one Test XI.