Love leads also-rans to give tourists runaround

Nasser Hussain did not need to spend a day in the field watching them feast on England's bowlers to know that Martin Love, Stuart Law, Andrew Symonds and Jimmy Maher can bat. The first day at the Allan Border Field here was dominated by four Queenslanders who have made a name for themselves in English domestic cricket as well as at home.

And on a day when England's captain had mixed feelings about the performance of his own side five days before the First Test, the fact that such talent is still lurking in international obscurity in Australia would not have been lost on him.

England's bowlers, after a good week in Perth, also now know the challenge they face on Thursday at the Gabba, and the encouragement they took from seeing Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan on the field was tempered by the ease with which Queensland scored 333 for 4.

After being sent to Adelaide to rehabilitate at the National Academy it was Flintoff that English eyes followed. According to his captain he was desperate to play in this game, and while his bowling looked a bit tentative at the start, and stiff towards the end, the fact that he bowled 18 overs is a positive sign.

The England captain, however, was cautious about his progress. "Freddie is a week or two behind where we would like him to be and ideally you would not want him to be making his comeback on the Saturday before a Test match," he said. "But in the week he said he was fit and we decided to play him. We now have to see how he and Michael Vaughan are tomorrow morning and at the end of this match before we know whether they are fit enough for the Test. Unlike a batsman, a bowler cannot get away with a slightly dodgy injury, and Flintoff not fully fit is not as good a player as White fully fit. You cannot carry people in Test cricket."

Of Flintoff's two wickets, the diving caught and bowled of his Lancashire team-mate Law would have given him most pleasure. Law, who edged a drive into his pads only to see it fly down the wicket back to the bowler, was out for a typically fluent 69. He was upstaged, though, by Love, who scored a magnificent 124 not out. The elegant, languid manner of Love makes his batting appear similar to that of Mark Waugh – who has been approached by Hampshire to join Shane Warne at the Rose Bowl next season. Bowlers cannot afford to bowl at his legs or over-pitch, but this is where Matthew Hoggard erred far too often.

"It was a tough day," Hussain said. "Queensland have a good batting line-up and they played well on a good pitch, but this is exactly what we needed and I thought we stuck at it well."

Whilst Hussain has been quietly going about his business several of the Australian side have been publicly airing their views on England's chances. He refuses to get embroiled. "I do not want to get involved in these off-the-field tit-for-tat shenanigans," he said. "All I say to my players is the same as I always say – to be the best side, the best players that they can be and to try and give themselves the best chance of beating Australia. If we do win, it will be the greatest thing we have ever done."

Meanwhile, Darren Gough, whose knee injury ruled him out of the First Test, will start his comeback in club cricket. Queensland University have agreed to allow him to play in the second day of their game next Saturday. If he comes through he will play in Hobart against Australia A before pushing for selection in the Second Test in Adelaide.