Sunday 12 July 2015 11:03, UK
Nasser Hussain felt England produced "almost the perfect Test match" to take a 1-0 lead in the Investec Ashes series.
England beat Australia by 169 runs in Cardiff, bowling the tourists out with a day to spare for an early advantage in the five-Test contest.
Former captain Hussain piled on the praise for the performance, which he feels was more impressive considering the Aussies were 5-0 winners in the last winter series down under.
"It was almost the perfect Test match and it’s very rare that you get the perfect Test match performance," he told Sky Sports News HQ.
"And it’s very rare that you start an Ashes series with a perfect performance. Bearing in mind they’ve come in off the back of a 5-0 defeat in Australia, England were absolutely outstanding from the first ball.
"It’s been a great start to the series, especially if you’re an England fan and a player."
Ian Botham was similarly fulsome in his praise of England, dismissing the suggestion that a below-par Australia performance was the cause of the result.
"The Australians are renowned for their street-fighting,” he said. “They hang in there, they love it and they thrive on it.
"England have just outplayed them in this game, it’s as simple as that. Whether you want to say Australia are under-par, I don’t believe that.
"I have said all along this England side will give as good as they get in this series and I think it’s absolutely fantastic.
"It’s a great result and richly deserved. They have outplayed them and outgunned them."
One of the key turning points in the game was when Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin dropped Joe Root for what would have been a second-ball duck; Root went on to make 134 in England’s first-innings score of 430.
They set the Aussies an Ashes record target of 412 to chase with a further 289 in the second innings, a score underpinned by the kind of adventurous play which has become the hallmark of the new-look England team this summer.
It is a style which, Hussain feels, suits the current crop of players perfectly.
"England in the past few series haven’t won those key moments and they’ve realised that they’ve got to do that," he added.
"They understood situations in the game really well and the captain has to take credit for that but also the individuals.
"In the old days, England would have plodded along and worried about if 400 was enough but the coach has told them to go out and play their shots.
"You can’t sit in against any Australia bowler because they will go after you if you try to block. They play fearless cricket, they have no mental scarring or baggage against Australia and they’re taking England in a different direction."
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