The experienced Mike Gatting was added to the England squads that had toured the West Indies and enjoyed success in home series against New Zealand and South Africa.

[2] Meanwhile, both David Hopps of The Guardian and Simon O'Hagan in The Independent identified Graham Thorpe as England's key batsman, and the most likely to counter the leg-spin of Shane Warne.

Injuries to Steve Waugh and wicketkeeper Ian Healy stymied their approach somewhat, but they were unlucky to lose the series which effectively turned in Pakistan's favour with a last wicket partnership of 57 between Inzamam ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed that sealed victory for the hosts in the First Test,[5] The Australians identified Warne as the prime challenge for the visitors, with Australia's seamers on the decline.

The first choice bowling attack was compromised when Devon Malcolm was struck down by chickenpox, which team manager Mike Smith described as "a major loss to the side".

Curator Keith Mitchell promised that the pitch would be conducive to spin, and Australia included both Shane Warne and Tim May to take advantage of the conditions at the expense of seamer Damien Fleming.

In their reply, England struggled against the imposing Craig McDermott, who was motivated by press speculation about his form, insisting that "it was a shock to me...I don't know where it's come from or what it's about, but I have to silence it.

Taylor opted not to enforce the follow-on, and he and Slater put on 109 in even time before Gough made the breakthrough, followed by two strikes from Tufnell, removing Boon, as the England bowlers fought back.

Warne cleaned up the tail to finish with match figures of 11–108 and pick up the man-of-the-match award, and the game was over before tea on the final day, England mustering 323.

It can set the tone for the series", but emphasised his team's stomach for a fight, noting their recovery in the West Indies, saying: "...we came back towards the end of the tour and won in Bridgetown.

Atherton won the toss and elected to field, but despite picking up the wickets of Slater (run out) and Taylor, the England bowlers generally bowled far too short and wide, and did not make best use of the damp conditions.

[citation needed] Boon and Mark Waugh added 52 before Tufnell struck, and Bevan followed soon after, popping a Gough delivery up to the skipper at gully to leave the hosts 100/4.

Warne played down his achievement, commenting that "I was just trying to tie up an end and I got a bit lucky", while his skipper noted that "Shane is like the West Indian bowlers – when he gets on top he gets all over you".

"I don't like to see us lie down and die," he said, referring to his decision to have Alec Stewart bat in the second innings despite a broken finger, but he admitted that "we got walloped in the first two Tests... We've got some good players [but] we're not playing especially well at the moment."

The England skipper added to the Australian eulogies, describing Warne as "easily the best bowler on either side", though Pakistan's Saleem Malik was less effusive, noting that "I didn't have any trouble picking out his variations".

[13] For the Third Test, the home side were unchanged, while England replaced the injured Stewart with John Crawley and Gooch moved back to the top of the order.

Initially curtailed on the second afternoon when rain brought an end to proceedings, the top order fell to Gough and Malcolm, slipping to 39/5 with only Taylor (49) holding out.

Australia were left to chase 449 for the victory and made a strong start, reaching 139 by the close of the fourth day without losing a wicket, and went on to 208 before Fraser had Slater (103, 10 fours) caught by Tufnell.

Boon batted for an hour and three-quarters for 17, but after his dismissal Fraser (5–73) made the most of the damp conditions, delivering a series of seaming deliveries to the Australian middle order that saw Bevan, both Waugh brothers and Healy returned to the pavilion, Rhodes taking three catches.

"[15] Amidst the failure to qualify for the final of the One-day series and a drawn match with Victoria that saw Hick continue his good form with a century but little other joy, the Daily Mirror latched onto Gooch's poor form and suggested that he might miss out on the final two Tests and end his career in anti-climax[16] while John Woodcock criticised the declaration at Sydney that denied Hick his century and the growing friction between the Captain and Chairman of Selectors.

Fleming picked up the two wickets to fall with but strained a hamstring early on the second day and left McDermott to take over the seam bowling duties.

The biggest concern in Atherton's mind was the aggressiveness of his fast bowlers – Devon Malcolm had been warned by the Match Referee to tone it down after directing Mark Waugh towards the pavilion in the Sydney Test – and the skipper was keen to see that it didn't stifle their effectiveness.

[20] Skipper Mark Taylor rubbished these reports though, claiming that his leg spinner simply "had a niggle", and "wasn't bowling well", but that it had "nothing to do with injuries" and that it was "all to do with his action", which was now remedied.

[20] In the end, Australia made two changes to the bowling attack, neither of which involved Warne: Jo Angel came in for what would be his fourth and final Test appearance, and Glenn McGrath was recalled after missing the last three matches.

[20] Steve Waugh was the other main contributor to Australia's total of 402, but was left stranded on 99 not out after a mix up with brother Mark, running for McDermott who was feeling a back strain.

During Australia's second innings, Slater hit 45 from 55 deliveries before departing to Fraser and Angel, nightwatchman on the third evening, was run out by his captain, England reducing the Australians to 123/5.

"[20] Meanwhile, his counterpart in the Australian side enthused about the back-up bowlers supporting Warne and McDermott, noting that "I was very happy with McGrath's good pace and line.

Thorpe and Atherton led the way for England's batsmen, each scoring more than 400 runs in the series, but the rest of the top order struggled, with only Hick (in six innings) and Ramprakash (in two) also averaging over 40.

The captain pressed the need to look at England's younger players for selection and acknowledged that the fielding had been a particular problem, but ultimately conceded that his team had been beaten by a better side.

[20] He wasn't backed by the selectors, however, with Fred Titmus arguing that "[a] youth policy should be the preserve of the England A team" and noting that "we would not have seen the best of Jack Hobbs, Tom Graveney and Jim Laker" if they had been rejected because of their age.

"[25] By contrast, Australia were quietly happy with the series result, although in looking forward to their forthcoming tour of the West Indies, captain Mark Taylor was keen that his side got tougher.