Disappointed Wilder rues what might have been as Boro are held Ponting warns England already in danger of Ashes whitewash

Chris Wilder believes Middlesbrough could have nicked a third successive Championship victory at Stoke – and might have done so but for Duncan Watmore’s early miss.

Watmore’s glaring 15thminute error proved pivotal, although a draw between two sides with play-off ambitions was probably the right result.

Stoke star Tyrese Campbell will also feel guilty he did not convert his own opportunity in a lively opening period.

The second half, however, was disappointing in comparison, leaving Boro manager Wilder and City counterpart Michael O’Neill to contemplate what might have been.

“You will talk about that missed chance and he would have been expected to score,” said Wilder of Watmore’s close-range effort. “But it wasn’t to be and they also missed a decent chance through Campbell.

“I enjoyed watching my team come into the backyard of a team who will be no doubt in the play-offs and we have gone toe-to-toe with them.

“Overall, our performance was good and on another day we might have shaded a win in a tight game.

“We came to a side, who I said previously, was potentially the hardest match we had faced.

“However, the greedy part of me says we should have won it. I don’t think it was a backs-against-the-wall performance. We never felt massively under the cosh.

“I thought we dictated the flow and tempo of the game. When we had to defend, we defended properly in numbers, but it wasn’t a dig in, defensive performance.

“We weren’t playing an average Championship side. This is a strong Championship side which had a lot of years in the Premier League, who want to get back there.”

Both keepers, Adam Davies and Joe Lumley, enjoyed quiet afternoons, although the Stoke goalie saved well from Andraz Sporar, while Lumley turned away a Mario Vrancic shot.

O’Neill said: “It was always going to be that type of game. Middlesbrough are a good side with good players and obviously Chris is having an impact since he has gone in there. It was a game of few chances and our systems cancelled each other out. We both had good chances in the first half and neither of us took them.”

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has warned England they are already in danger of an Ashes whitewash after just one Test.

Ponting believes the touristshad a real chance of coming out on top in the series opener in Brisbane, with a comprehensivenine-wicket defeat spelling bad news for their prospects over the next four games.

The 46-year-old, who took in events at The Gabba, knows exactly how a 5-0 Ashes win feels having captained one in 2006/07.

“The conditions are only going to get better for Australia. The conditions (in Brisbane) were very English like,” Ponting said.

“There was more pace and bounce but as far as their bowling is concerned, they’ re probably not going to get that much movement anywhere else for the entire series. “If they don’t win in Adelaide then there could be shades of ’06/07.”

Ponting also tipped in-form Western Australia se am erJh ye Richardson as an able deputy for Josh Hazlewood if the latter is ruled out with sore a sore side.

Hazlewood has left the squad and flown to Sydney but a spokesperson for Cricket Australia said he was not yet ruled out. Richardson would be vying for selection against the uncapped Michael Neser, who pushed his case with a fivewicket haul this week for Australia A against England Lions.

Meanwhile, James Bracey’s battling century could not spare England Lions as they slumped to a 112-run defeat at the hands of Australia A in Brisbane.

Bracey’s 113 and a knock of 73 from wicket-keeper Ben Foakes as the pair put on 111 for the sixth wicket gave the tourists hope, but ultimately they could not get across the line after a difficult start to their second innings.

The Lions resumed at 136-3 on day four needing 324 more to reach their victory target of 460 with openers Alex Lees and Rob Yates, as well as Tom Abell already back in the pavilion.

Bracey faced 295 balls in a patient innings, initially in partnership with Josh Bohannon, who made 51 before becoming Michael Ne ser’ s seventh victim in the match.

However, it was he and Foakes who pushed on before Mark Steketee removed the former and Matt Renshaw the latter to signal the beginning of the end despite resistance from Dom Bes sand Liam Nor well as England were all out for 347.