Waugh's pre-Ashes verdict that's haunting England

When Steve Waugh spoke at the SCG after lifting the MCC Waterford Crystal Trophy off a helicopter, the big comment was his swipe at George Bailey.

What wasn't covered too deeply was his prediction.

"I think the best fielding side will win the Ashes this year," he said.

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Waugh's verdict is now looking spooky.

England dropped five catches in Australia's first innings which ultimately cost them any sort of advantage they had over the hosts.

The fielding effort showed a lack of familiarity with the pink ball as a lot of those catches came during the night session.

Ben Duckett dropped two while Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse all missed one each.

In contrast, Australia's fielding was sensational. Alex Carey kept up to the stumps brilliantly, Josh Inglis pulled off a brilliant run out and Steve Smith was taking screamers.

On the Sky Sports Cricket podcast, Michael Atherton described Carey as the "beating heart of a brilliant performance in the field from Australia".

"They missed nothing in the field. How many catches did we put down? Five," he said.

"And then bowling loosely, giving wickets away, they're fundamentals that a good Test match cricket team don't get wrong that frequently and England have got to put it right."

England captain Ben Stokes was also critical of his team's fielding.

"We took 12 wickets in this game but it felt like 17 because of the dropped catches," he said.

"In Test matches at this level, you just can't do that. You look at Steve Smith's catch on the day when me and Jacksy (Will Jacks) had batted three hours together, it completely changed where it was at. Alex Carey, unbelievable behind the stumps.

"You can't drop catches at this level and not expect it to bite you in the arse."

Now the heat will turn up on how England field in the next three Test matches, simply because they need to be much better than Australia to have any chance of victory.

The visitors are now in Noosa to reset, relax, and ensure they don't over-prepare this time. 

Maybe on the beaches of Queensland, the playing group can practice classic catches in the surf. Or just keep it to the straight forward ones.

Either way, Waugh is proving to be Nostradamus, and it's up to England to change that fortune.