Ashes 2013: England suffer as run drought takes its toll in a summer famine The ends can be said to have justified the means, until now: England have not lost any of those Tests, and totals of 300 have been good enough to defeat Australia and wallop New Zealand. But such low horizons will have to be raised in Australia this winter. Lower totals than normal for an English summer are also the consequence of having a new opening pair. Nobody could expect Alastair Cook and Joe Root to replicate Hobbs and Sutcliffe after one practice game against Essex in which to get to know each other. Individually, Cook may be on the downward spiral which has afflicted the run-making output of all recent England captains following an initial surge on appointment. Root has scored only 78 runs apart from his 180 at Lord's, although he has batted a long time: only Ian Bell, on either side, has faced more balls. Throw in Jonathan Trott's bad trot and the result was a poor start by England in every innings of the second and third Tests. But this did not apply on Friday: England's batsmen had made a decent start before they decided to impose themselves on Nathan Lyon, and failed. The sustained accuracy of Shane Watson, and of Australia's pace bowlers in general, should not be overlooked. Watson has acted like a boa constrictor: he may have swallowed only two victims but he has tied England down to 1.8 runs an over. In series of three Tests or more over the past decade, Jacques Kallis is the only other seamer to have an economy rate below two an over. Another factor in England's failure to amass a large total on Friday may have been selflessness. It sounds absurd that hardened pros could be accused of such a trait, but trends in cricket can swing like pendulums. A generation ago for instance, at every level, a young leg-spinner would not be given any chance; now he may open the bowling in a 20-over game, given too much of a chance. Similarly, an England Test batsman of a generation ago was shooting himself in the foot if he did a selfless act. No allowance would be made, no credit given. The rule was to look after number one up until 1999, the year of maximum chaos, before central contracts were introduced. Was England's strategy yesterday to go after Lyon and hit him out of the attack? It was at Old Trafford: Kevin Pietersen and Bell launched into Lyon and took him for 29 from four overs, before he could maul England. Here England's right-handed batsmen perished in the cause of attacking Lyon. Impatient? Imprudent? Yes, given a turning pitch where it is imperative to score first-innings runs before batting becomes ever harder. Selfish?