Australia / Ralph Ellis / 06 October 2010 /

A defeat against India in the first Test from a winning position is the latest evidence of Australia not being the force they used to be, says Ralph Ellis.

If there's one thing that Ryder Cup week showed it's that sport is all about momentum. When you are winning you keep winning, when you're not you can't find a way to put things right.

That is great news for England's cricketers as they enjoy a few weeks R&R before final preparations to go to Australia. Andrew Strauss and his team are on the crest of a wave, with six successive series wins behind them in all forms of the game. Meanwhile the Australians, the country who gave the phrase 'winning mentality' to the world game, have completely lost the aura that once accompanied them around the globe.

Their latest flop came in the first Test in India. After setting the home side 216 to win on the final day, then reducing them to 124 for eight, the Aussies of old would have needed barely 15 minutes to polish off the last two wickets before setting about some celebratory tinnies. After all, the Indian tail consisted of VVS Laxman who needed a runner because he had a bad back, and number ten Ishant Sharma with a batting average that barely makes double figures.

But the pair put on 81 together, Laxman got 73 not out, and the ultimate sign that the killer instinct has gone came when the Indians were gifted four overthrows when they still needed six to win.

Against that background it gets harder every day to see why Australia should be odds-on at [1.75] to regain the Ashes this winter. Of course England haven't won a series Down Under since the year dot, and yes, we remember all too vividly what happened the last time we went to defend the Urn and ended up getting whitewashed 5-0. But that was an Australian side with the last of its big guns, the men who were used to winning, still available and up for the fight. The current crop have yet to develop the same battle-hardened mentality and if they can't close out a match like the one in Mohali, they are running out of time to get there.

In contrast England have developed a culture where, whatever the crisis, somebody in the team seems to find a performance to turn the game their way. It may yet be Kevin Pietersen, who has just started a spell in South Africa aimed at rediscovering his form. He had his first net session with the Dolphins yesterday and said: "I am here to put things right, spend time in the middle and work harder than ever so I am in the best nick possible for the Ashes."

Even if he doesn't come to the fore there are others quite capable of making big runs and I like the look of backing the gutsy Paul Collingwood at [7.0] to be England's top scorer for the series. Either way England have the momentum, and the Aussies are struggling to find any of their own.

Five things you might not know about VVS Laxman

1. Born November 1974 in Hyderabad, those initials stand for Vangipurappu Venkata Sai

2. Both his parents were doctors, and he had enrolled as a medical student himself before choosing a career as a cricketer.

3.Away from cricket he relaxes by reading autobiographies. His favourite book is Phil Jackson's Sacred Hoops, the story of how he built the Chicago Bulls team and managed Michael Jordan

4.His best ever Test score was 281, at the time the record made by an Indian batsman, which helped India beat Australia after following on in the second Test in 2001. It is rated by Wisden as the sixth best innings in cricket history

5.His wife G R Sailaja has a post graduate degree in computer applications. They have a son Sarvajit and a daughter Achintya

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