England must create real feeling of teamwork

When a team are being beaten as comprehensively as England are at the moment, their spirit and ethics are tested to the limit. The mindset of the players will wander from one extreme to another. One minute you are determined to get it right and will convince yourself that you are good enough. The next it's to hell with it, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. The focus and direction of the team can go one way or the other.

Over the next three days the England captain Nasser Hussain and his erudite coach, Duncan Fletcher, have a huge job on their hands. The potential for losing this Ashes series 5-0 is real and the first thing they need to ensure is that their squad sticks together. This pair have to be clear and consistent in their thoughts as they attempt to move them forward in a straight line.

The alternative is that the disillusionment they are feeling could lead to a free-for-all which ends up with each player looking after himself, hoping they can individually do enough to make sure the dirt does not stick on them. When this happens the team ethos falls apart and seldom do such selfish attitudes bring a side back from the brink. It is over this period that the true character of a player will come through.

Hussain showed his again yesterday less than 24 hours after his under-performing side had been humbled by Australia. There he stood in the umpire's position working with Andrew Flintoff, Chris Silverwood and Alex Tudor at an optional net session which about half the squad attended. Even after two sorry defeats, his desire to get things right appears as strong as ever.

Any captain is open to criticism for their tactics and some of Hussain's in the last year have been questionable. However, the one thing the England captain could never be accused of is not caring, which makes comments made by the former Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes laughable. Hughes was as whole-hearted a cricketer as you will see but to suggest that Hussain "virtually gave up" during the Adelaide Test shows poor judgement of character.

The Victorian also said that Hussain should resign. Again this is ridiculous because we have all seen what happens when the captain is away. England are still a better side with Hussain as captain.

When asked about comments made by Hughes and others concerning the captain, and suggestions he may resign before the end of this series, Fletcher said: "From what I have seen and from the enthusiasm he showed at practice this morning, I have seen no sign of that and it [resigning] would not be the Nasser Hussain that I know."

When Hussain said on Sunday that there was no disgrace in watching and attempting to learn from the way Australia played their cricket, he was right. However, such study should go further than batting, bowling and fielding ­ it should also include lessons in how to become a better team.

Following the introduction of central contracts and the leadership given by Hussain and Fletcher, England are a better team than they were when I was playing. There seems more togetherness and less insecurity about selection for the next game.

Throughout my England career I looked enviously at the Australian team and the spirit they had. They appeared together in everything they did and this quality made up for the shortcomings of some players in their squad. The camaraderie ensured nobody was left out on their own, ready to be picked off.

When he was captain of England Michael Atherton believed that team spirit came as a result of winning. Undoubtedly there is a correlation, but I always felt that it was the other way around because I would rather play in a side that had 11 committed individuals than a few talented ones who turned it on when they felt like it.

An example of their fellowship ­ mateship, as they say in Australia ­ came during their victorious 1999 World Cup campaign. On a day off they phoned their liaison officer to ask about the possibility of going go-kart racing one afternoon. The liaison officer, who had previously worked with the England team, was used to us doing little together and accepted the way we drifted about in small groups. Innocently, she asked how many of the squad would be attending. The reply ­ "All of us mate, why?" ­ took her by surprise because it was not what she expected. All of the squad ­ the players, management, physiotherapist and scorer ­ went karting.

Steve Waugh said as much after the Adelaide Test when describing the strengths of his side. "We have moulded ourselves into a formidable unit," he said. "We enjoy each other's company and enjoy each other's success. When teams are playing against us they know they are up against 11; not 10, 9 or 8 players but 11, all the time."

For England to have any chance of battling back in this series, they need Australia to feel the same sensation when they walk on to the field at the WACA this weekend.