Cook: England let down by me and top batsmen.

Byline: DEAN WILSON 

ENGLAND'S batsmen know they have been made to look like Charlies - by their own tail-end.

And now they have held up their hands to admit Sunday's dramatic rescue act should never have been left to their heroic 'rabbits'.

James Anderson and Monty Panesar clawed England to safety by surviving nearly 12 overs against the Aussie attack while the batsmen chewed their nails up on the balcony, knowing they had mucked up.

And opening batsman Alastair Cook has spoken out over the shame of England's top order - bar Paul Collingwood - who rolled over a little too easily in their second innings.

"It shouldn't have been down to them to save game the because the batters are the ones who should have done it," Cook confessed.

"But well done to them for the way they handled the pressure. We were looking dead and buried. We were behind the eight ball, losing wickets at just the wrong stage, but credit to Colly and then Jimmy and Monty for the way they played to hold their nerve.

"It shouldn't have been them rescuing us at the end there.

"The batters need to get in and stay in when they get the chance because although 435 looked like a good score, on that wicket it wasn't good enough.

"Obviously, as batsmen, it is our responsibility to do that and we didn't do it as we'd have liked in Cardiff. We got starts but not the big runs that make the difference."

Cook admitted he would have been just as much to blame as any of the specialist run-getters had England lost the First Test, especially considering the decent nick he's been in for county and country.

Cook smashed 160 in his previous Test against the West Indies, as well as plundering an unbeaten ton in a Twenty20 game for Essex, so a return of 10 and six in Wales was hardly impressive.

At least he can take some of the plaudits for helping Anderson to develop into quite a handy batsman since taking over from Matthew Hoggard as England's nightwatchman.

The batting buddy system has clearly worked between Panesar and Collingwood, but Cook insists he hasn't had to do too much with the natural talents of Anderson.

"Jimmy is a very talented boy. He plays golf and all sorts of sports like a natural, so hitting a cricket ball is the same sort of thing for him," he said.

"I can't claim any credit for Jimmy's knock, I'm just the throw-down man and let him hit it. He played some great shots and hopefully he can keep on improving.

"It was a frustrating Test match for me because I went into the game in really good form and I thought my preparation had been perfect. It was just one of those things where it didn't go right for me.

"I can't be too disappointed with it though, and I need to fight really hard to get through the first 20 minutes again at Lord's and then go on and get a good score.

"We do like batting at Lord's. All the batters pretty much got in at Cardiff, which is a good sign. Hopefully, as well as getting away with the draw, we'll have some big hundreds left in us for this next Test.

"The key at Lord's is for the batsmen to go on and make it count. We're not inventing the wheel when it comes to Test match batting, big scores help you set up games and win them. That's what we must do."

Alastair Cook was speaking along with other England and Australia players at the adidas performance store on Oxford Street in London. Visit www.adidas.com for details.

CAPTION(S):

IN A STEW Alastair Cook goes cheaply for the second time in the First Test