Four games into the ODI series between Australia and England, and it seems almost certain that the English side has progressively gone from being complacent to being switched off in the series. The series is already lost, but the pride is still at stake. What is also at stake for England is to be able to take away some positives from the series, such that their Champions Trophy campaign is not derailed even before it has been flagged off.

But against an Australian side, which has not only smelled blood but also are gunning for a 7-0 ODI triumph, it will not be easy. The batting and the bowling are both clicking for the Aussies and the return of Ricky Ponting makes the top order even more potent. With the likes of Cameron White and Callum Ferguson doing well enough in the middle order, such that Michael Hussey lack of runs hasn't been a problem so far, it has been all hunky-dory for the Aussie batsmen. And England will find it difficult to penetrate through. With Tim Paine having got to his maiden half century as well, it remains to be seen whether the English bowlers find out ways of being able to restrict the Aussies.

The Australian bowling has only added to their opposition's woes. Brett Lee return to fitness was immediately followed by his return to form, and the five-wicket haul in the previous game - that included four stump-crackers - and he has had good support from Nathan Hauritz as well. With guys like Mitchell Johnson, who has already won one man-of-the-match award for his all round play - doing well enough with the cherry, the English batsmen will have to device ways to not only get to good starts but also carry it on till the very end.

The English batsmen are heavily dependent on Andrew Strauss. But the fact that the law of averages could work against him will be weighing down heavily on the rest of the batsmen, with Strauss having performed well in almost all the games. It will be on the rest of the middle order to come to the party with some runs to their name, and some big partnerships which will get them moving to a total of more than 270 runs. The bowling has shown that while it is not as good as the Aussie line-up, it can throttle the flow of runs when required, but for that to be converted into a win, the batsmen will need to do a job as well!

Tag :-   Andrew Strauss   Australia   Cameron White   Champions Trophy   England   Michael Hussey   Mitchell Johnson   Nathan Hauritz   Ricky Ponting