Adelaide: Ian Bell says England must quickly fix their problems if they are to keep the Ashes from the dominant Australians.
England collapsed for a third time in the series for just 172 in reply to Australia's massive 570 for nine declared and are facing a 530-run deficit heading into the fourth day of the second Adelaide Test on Sunday.
Bell, who again expressed his willingness to bat at number three for England, was one of few shining beacons among the abject tourists' batting performance, scoring an unbeaten 72. But the senior batsman admits time is running out as the Aussies close in on going two-up in the five-Test series over the closing two days of the Adelaide Test.
"Obviously, it's another disappointing performance. You can't afford in Test matches, certainly the first innings you have, to get bowled out for under 200 ... you're not going to win anything.
"We need to fix it pretty quickly if we want to get back into this series. "It's just not good enough. We need to make sure we put that right, and we'll have an opportunity second innings to at least show people we're going to show some fight."
Bell said the Adelaide Test was still salvageable, although it would take something special from the team's batsmen to prevent losing to Michael Clarke's Australians. "You've all seen what we've done in the past. These games are 'saveable', but someone is going to have to play an incredible innings," he said.
"But what we've done in the last three innings isn't going to get us close. So... probably two or three guys are really going to have to step up. It's a challenge, but that leads to opportunities, so we need to take it."
Bell said England had to find an answer to the rampant Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who ripped through the tourists, taking seven for 40 and now has 16 wickets for the series at just 8.9. "We're going to have to find an answer because he's blowing us away middle and lower order," Bell said.
"We need to make sure we can somehow get through his spell ... we need to find a way, and pretty quickly."
Bell said while he did not fear Johnson's pace and short-pitched bowling, it did take plenty of courage to face up to him. "When you're playing pace, you have to have some serious courage, don't you?" he said.
"You know there's going to be a few going past your nose. I don't think we should have been surprised by this.
"He's a quality performer. He's bowled a lot more accurately in this series probably than he has in the past. I'm not surprised that he's bowled well. When he's bowling at 150 kph (93 mph), you've got to be switched on every ball."
On the thorny question of batting at number three following the departure of incumbent Jonathan Trott with a stress-related illness, Bell said he would like to bat there. "Yeah. It's out of my control. I'm happy to bat anywhere for this team," he said.
Joe Root was selected at number three and looked good until he was out to a rash shot to spinner Nathan Lyon for 15.
Aussies look to 'cook' England some more: Johnson
Aussies look to 'cook' England some more: Johnson
Adelaide: Mitchell Johnson said Saturday Australia want to "cook" England a bit more in the field before going after another landslide win over England in the second Ashes Test.
Johnson, still sporting his drooping moustache, was the destroyer with seven for 40 bringing England to their knees and leaving them facing a mounting 530-run deficit as Australia look to go two-up in the five-Test series against the Ashes holders.
England could not handle Johnson's sheer pace as the left-arm speedster carried on from his man-of-the-match Brisbane performance to put the tourists once again on the rack. Johnson, who said he will keep his "magical mo" for the remainder of the series, promised more pain for England on Sunday's fourth day before the home side look to finish off the tourists.
"We want to get them back out there in the field and keep cooking them a bit," Johnson told reporters. "The runs are irrelevant at the moment, but we probably will be looking at keeping them out there for a bit longer, hopefully see Davey (Warner) get his hundred and then having a real crack and have a bit of time at them.
"You could see the amount of spin the two spinners were getting out there today and that variable bounce has definitely come in and they got the ball to reverse really early, so it's good signs for us."
Johnson, who is the undeniable man of the series so far with 16 wickets at just 8.9, said he was "in the zone" in England's feeble innings total of 172.
"The ball came out of my hand exactly the way I wanted it to. There was a bit of talk of me not hitting the stumps at Brisbane. But I was excited about the variable bounce, the reverse swing that Adelaide provides. It was really nice today, really nice feeling. I just went hard.
"You have to enjoy these moments when they come along because they don't always happen and I'm going to enjoy it tonight."
Johnson, who was the target of the goading England travelling Barmy Army supporters group during Australia's Ashes humiliation at home three years ago, says he now feels appreciated for his bowling.
"I'm not sure the Barmy Army were clapping today. When we do go over there (England) they do really appreciate good cricket, that's how they've always been and that's how it should be in world cricket," he said.
Johnson was asked if he felt like giving England sledging protagonist Jimmy Anderson a "send off" after knocking out his middle stump for a first ball duck. "I thought about it. I didn't need to, no. I think there's obviously a fair bit of stuff that's gone in the past," he said. "Jimmy likes to give it. I like to give it. But I thought at the time it wasn't needed."
Johnson wreaked havoc after lunch with six for 16 off 26 balls for his ninth five-wicket haul and second in consecutive Tests. The energised 32-year-old quick is now 10th on the Australian all-time list with 221 wickets.
And Johnson said he intended to keep his moustache, at least until the end of the Ashes series next month. "The mo is staying for the Ashes series. I had a few people today in the crowd calling for me to keep it forever but not sure my wife will be happy with that," he said.
"Some have called it a magical mo, but it's going okay at the moment. Once the series is over I'll end it."
