This is last-chance saloon – we need to prove Australians wrong

This is the defining Test match of the series. If England can win, it would be marvellous and a real tonic to themselves and all their supporters. But if they cannot win, scrap a draw at whatever cost. Keep the Ashes alive and stop all this talk of another 5-0 whitewash.

If England lose, it all falls apart from here on in. At the moment, there is as much talk about incidents off the field as on it. Already Australians think, wrongly, our team are a bunch of alcoholics. They think we c annot play cricket. We are making it easy for them by losing on the field and pratting about in bars. It is time to show the Australians they are wrong, we have bottle, we have ability and we are a good set of lads.

You would not find a nicer kid than Joe Root but this tour is becoming a circus. England need to change that.

The England players have had five days off, with time to contemplate how and where they can improve, but the only thing that matters is they are raring to go for the battle of their lives.

The two big guns, Root and Alastair Cook, have to fire. Without them scoring major runs, it is going to be near impossible for England to make a sizeable total.

Our batsmen as a whole need to think of 400-plus in the first innings. Anything less and then it is a dogfight to stop themselves from losing easily. Recently, the Waca pitch has got slower and become easier for batting.

There have been a lot of high scores in state matches so, with our backs to the wall, we have a better opportunity than we thought of saving this Test.

Whether the England batsmen graft for runs over long periods or come out attacking the Aussie bowling, as Kevin Pietersen suggests, the only thing that matters is not giving your wicket away and scoring plenty.

When we bowl with a new ball, it is imperative our seamers learn from Adelaide that they must pitch the ball up to take wickets, even if the opposition score a few more boundaries.

Already they think, wrongly, our team are alcoholics. They think we cannot play cricket

Extra fielders on the off side for the drive, giving bowlers protection and encouragement to pitch the ball up, is much better than tight overs and will work. Be defensive – bowling back of a length – when the ball is older. When it is new, you to have bowl to get people out.

The plus side is that, in Adelaide, England made David Warner and Steve Smith work really hard for their runs. Root set clever, unusual field placings, so it is obvious they have done some homework and the bowlers backed it up.

England have to use those same plans again because both batsmen succumbed to the pressure. The rest of the batsmen are not that special. What has hurt England is Smith scoring 141 not out in the first innings in Brisbane. In the second innings Warner made 87 not out, and in Adelaide Shaun Marsh hit 126 not out. Each time, the Aussies have made one big innings and we need the same from Cook or Root.

England also have to find a way to get Pat Cummins out. He made runs in Brisbane, and in Adelaide he scored 44, putting on 99 for the ninth wicket with Marsh just when England thought they were through the Aussies. That is an absolute killer.

These are small things but they are really hurting England. People say Australia’s batting is no better than ours. But at the crucial moment they find someone to stand up. We do not and that is the difference between winning and losing Test matches.

Our tailenders cannot keep getting bounced out. It looks like they have not prepared properly. Australian cricketers are not stupid. They saw Mitchell Johnson blowing our tail away four years ago with short, fast bowling so it is in everybody’s memory.

All you have to do is put the tailenders in the nets, get fastmedium bowlers to bowl off 20 yards, and bang it in short so they replicate facing 90mph fast bowlers. Help the tailenders by showing them how to defend and duck and weave the short ball. That is not rocket science. It should have been done back home before the tour started.

I used to do that five days a week for five weeks before I went on tour. Once you have been doing it a while in the nets, it becomes second nature. You have trained the brain and do not panic.

If the tail look as if they are going to get out, Jonny Bairstow gives his wicket away as well because he thinks he has to score runs quickly before it is all over, which is a waste of his batting.