Stuart Broad is running in from the Radcliffe Road End for 19th time.

He is experiencing a moment cricketers envision as teenage pretenders.The surreal Thursday morning continues.

The tall right-arm quick has already done his job, one feels, to seal the Urn for his side. His malicious seam and swing has sent half of the Australian lineup back in the hutch. As Broad is approaching his stride, he is trying to figure out how the heavens have been so generous to him.

The pitch, with umpteen green patches and the overcast conditions, is ensuring lateral movement.

Everything is perfect.

As Broad takes his ostrich-like stride to deliver the ball, he loses concentration and bowls the only loose ball of the day. The ball pitches a little on the fuller side but wide of the off-stump, but hey, he registers his fifth wicket of the day off the tacky ball.

The Australian skipper falls cheaply.

Michael Clarke, who's had a torrid few seasons in the Test format, disgusts his fans as he offers a scummy shot. The ball subsequently ends up in the English captain Alastair Cook's hands after it takes a thick edge off the bat. Australia are now 6 down for 29 runs.

England eventually triumph in Nottinghamshire and seal the Ashes series comprehensively. A rampant Stuart Broad takes eight wickets as Australia are shot out for 60, their joint sixth-lowest Ashes total, in just over 90 minutes.

I understand that it is difficult to tackle seam and swing on English wickets, but one thing is for sure, it is not insurmountable. Things could have been different for the visitors, had they fought the urge to feel every ball on their bats.

To duck the ball in cricket is an art which is mastered by only a few today. Broad’s stupefying spell asked the Australians to hang in and let the ball fly to the keeper’s gloves.

The English Dukes ball, with its protruding seam, on a green surface, calls for defensive batsmanship.

Seeing-off the ball becomes a significant batting attribute in Trent Bridge-like conditions. The batsmen who still duck, either to blunt the threat of the new ball or when in pressure, reap success.

The New Zealand way doesn't always work

The top-spots of the ICC Test Rankings are filled with batsmen who master the art of ducking and leaving and use it to get their teams out of tense situations.

Whether it is Joe Root, Kumara Sangakkara or Younis Khan, these batsmen hang in and get through the spell which has the potential to change the course of the match in the opposition’s favor.

Recently, Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting highlighted the importance of hanging in during a difficult situation.

He quoted the 1999 Perth Test where after a amaterish start to the Test, Pakistan were all over the hosts.

The Aussies were four down for 54 in the trail of a modest 155 runs. Ponting recalled that on the seam -conducive pitch, he along with Justin Langer hung in till Shoaib Akhtar’s blistering spell came to an end.

By mere letting the ball fly past them, the duo of Ponting and Langer turned the tables in their favor. They added 327 runs together which eventually resulted in Australia’s comprehensive victory over the visitors by an innings and 20 runs.

It is clear that the recent New Zealand-pioneered attacking style of play in Tests works only for certain teams and in limited conditions. It's more about a mindset than a rule book; about winning Tests and not settling for meek draws.

A lot of teams have attempted to emulate the New Zealand way. The 'attack no matter what the situation' strategy doesn't always work though. And in conditions so heavily tilted in the bowler's favour, the 'Geoffrey Boycott style book' is something more to go by.

But the ever-increasing Twenty20 mindset has instilled a desire in the batsmen to touch every ball. Patience and temperament, the requisites to become a top quality batsman, are hardly tested now. Australia’s innings was a pure example of how the batsmen’s lack of control over themselves cost them the match.

The dismissal of the Australian skipper showed how impatience puts you on the receiving end. Before his wicket, Broad had taken four out of the five wickets. Hence, it was clear that Clarke just needed to survive that little period.

The English batsmen demonstrated how much more easier conditions became as the first day went along.

Clarke restlessness made him do otherwise. The Australian captain, who could have left that ball, ended up going for a ferocious cover-drive and threw away his wicket in the process.

A wise man said, defense and attack are equally important in war. This saying weighs heavy if seen from Test batsmanship perspective.