Clark fits the bill

Stuart Clark removes Matthew Hoggard to leave England on the brink © Getty Images

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The final act of the first Ashes Test involved three of the figures central to its outcome.

Steve Harmison pulled Stuart Clark to Glenn McGrath at fine leg to hand Australia the last of their five wickets on Monday and confirm the hosts as victors by the resounding margin of 277 runs.

It capped a disappointing five days for Harmison, whose wayward first delivery to get the series under way - so wide it went to second slip - set the tone for an erratic bowling display which saw Australia amass 602 for nine declared.

McGrath’s performance with the ball in the first innings was as predictable as it was devastating, and left England in a perilous position from which they never recovered.

Such brilliance has become the norm for the veteran seamer, who has spearheaded Australia’s new-ball attack for the best part of a decade, but of equal concern to the tourists as they formulate a plan to get back in the series should be the threat posed by Clark.

Glenn McGrath seals victory for Australia by catching Steve Harmison © Getty Images

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He took the final three wickets on the fifth morning, giving him figures of 4-72 to go with 3-21 in the first innings.

His contribution in Brisbane not only enhanced his claims for a place in the team for the second Test at Adelaide, but served to underline what Australia missed during last year’s Ashes.

Even the great Shane Warne, brilliant as he was in 2005, could not carry a bowling attack for the duration of a five-match series without help, a point reinforced when McGrath was absent for two Tests.

The lack of a reliable third bowler was Australia’s undoing in England, with Brett Lee’s 20 wickets costing 40 apiece and Michael Kasprowicz and Shaun Tait coming up short when they were thrust into the action.

Kasprowicz lacks the pace to trouble batsmen of the highest calibre, while Tait’s malfunctioning radar too often prevented any pressure being built up.

In Clark, however, Australia may have found the missing piece in the bowling jigsaw.

Clark and Adam Gilchrist begin their victory celebrations in Brisbane © Getty Images

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Regarded as McGrath MK II due to the similarities in height and their upright, economical actions - match figures of 7-93 served as an emphatic riposte to those who questioned whether both could play in the same side - Clark is much like his New South Wales colleague in that his strict line just outside off stump hugely restricts batsmen’s scoring options.

Allied to such parsimony - he conceded less than 2.5 runs an over in this Test - is the ability to bowl wicket-taking deliveries of the type that accounted for Paul Collingwood in the first innings and Ashley Giles on Monday, both undone by significant movement off the seam.

While Australia’s reserve seamer boasted the best statistics of any bowler on either side, Steve Harmison, the spearhead of the England attack, was found wanting.

Match figures of 1-177, including just five maidens in 42 overs, tell a sorry tale for the Durham paceman, who is seen as crucial to England’s chances of retaining the Ashes this winter.

Many column inches and huge chunks of air time have been filled dissecting the state of Harmison’s action, mind and even his heart, and we can expect more of the same before the second Test starts on Friday.

One suspects Clark will not receive anything like the same attention.