Ashes 2013-14: England haunted by spectre of 2006-07 whitewash as fired-up Australia aim for history repeated Another run fest followed, this time by Australia, and suddenly England found their seemingly impregnable position eroded. The game could still have been drawn - a result that was odds-on favourite going into the final day. But Shane Warne had other ideas and almost single-handedly exhorted England's batsmen to self-destruct for 129 in their second innings, which left Australia's batsmen with a modest target even they could not mess up given their history of cock-ups chasing small totals. Flintoff's team were broken men after that and neither he nor Duncan Fletcher, the coach, were able to lift players enough to prevent a now rampant Australia from inflicting maximum humiliation by winning the remaining Tests and inflicting only the second Ashes whitewash in history. For that reason, Cook will be desperate for a good showing in Adelaide after the humiliation of the first Test. A win would be handy, or at least a draw, as they would not want to be 2-0 down going to the WACA, a venue England have only won at once since 1971. With the last two Tests tending to produce results you would have to fear the worse, as one pessimistic England supporter at Brisbane airport already was. Cook's team are different in one or two aspects from their whitewashed predecessors, such as their ability to overcome an early deficit as they did in India a year ago. Given that Michael Clarke's Australia lack a genius player like Warne, who turned several of those Tests seven years ago on his own, they should get enough runs in Adelaide for any purple performances from their own bowlers to count this time. There are similarities between the two sides, worrying ones if you believe that history is cyclical. Cook, as Flintoff was, is a relatively new captain albeit one unlikely to turn to strong drink if things start unravelling further for his team. England have a strong bowling side, as then, but a batting line-up susceptible to collapse, though happily this Australian side suffers the same problem. Then there is the sheer hostility and ferocity with which the Aussie players, the parochial media and the public have hit them, a reprise of seven years ago. Back then, there was widespread anger over here at how England had celebrated their 2005 Ashes victory against a crack Aussie team, with open-to bus rides and parades through Trafalgar Square. There was also a determination to give legends like Warne, Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden, on last hurrah, and no prisoners were taken. This time they expected to be treated with respect, following three successive Ashes wins, and so far they have received about as much of that as the dogs in an Indian slum. England also have senior players out of form as they did last time, such as wicketkeeper Matt Prior. His predecessor Geraint Jones played just three matches before being dropped averaging 10.66 with the bat. Others like Andrew Strauss had a poor series while Cook averaged 27, though he was not the complete batsman then that he is now. Where things could differ, is that Andy Flower might be prepared to take a risk or two with selection, something Duncan Fletcher did not do until his team were 2-0 down. The first thing Flower must do is to find a No 3. Joe Root has just gone back down the order but in the second innings he played Johnson as well as anybody. Ian Bell is another candidate for that spot, but he made three hundreds at five against Australia last summer and flourished in the role of provider when England were in trouble. Moving him up would fit with Cook's call for senor players to stand up, but it would also take him away from his best position. If Root does go to three then Gary Ballance or Jonny Bairstow could compete for the No 6 spot or Prior could be promoted and Ben Stokes picked at seven. England rarely opt for five bowlers but if Adelaide is flat and hot, which it tends to be, a fifth bowler, especially one who might take the Aussie bowlers on with the bat too, could be handy. On the evidence of the first Test, England's priority is to make big runs in the first innings. Yet, as we saw seven years ago, even that did not guarantee the right result.