Before any series the captain and coach will ask for thoughts and advice from all sorts of people. I think of it as a due diligence process. You have to know your opposition. That’s why I was a bit surprised yesterday to find that a “leaked” document from Justin Langer to the Australia camp was causing a big stir in certain quarters.

Leaks, dossiers, Ashes files . . . it all sounds very dramatic. But before MI5 gets on the case, let’s look at it from another angle. Frankly, I’d have been amazed if Justin hadn’t been asked to pass on a few tips to the boys. He’s been in England for long enough now to be a pretty good source of information.

One of the skills a captain needs is to sort out whose advice he can trust. It isn’t like a game of Family Fortunes where you might ask 100 people in the street how to get out Ravi Bopara and then follow the most popular answer. You look for those whose opinion is solid and who get things right more often than not.

A lot of the time the information comes informally. Some people are happy to chat, others such as Justin like to write down their thoughts. It’s no secret that I’m good mates with Michael Clarke. We speak most days and he sometimes asks what I think about a certain player or whether I’ve noticed anything in the games that may not have been picked up. The network of players worldwide is strong and a lot of information gets passed around.

As for the details of his notes, I reckon Justin must be a fan of my Times columns. A lot of his observations look familiar, such as Graeme Swann being on a par with Nathan Hauritz and potentially dangerous to left-handers, Bopara, for all his talent, being vulnerable, and Matt Prior having a strut and an ego.

The timing of this “leak” makes me smile. Saying that England retreat quickly under pressure wouldn’t have had the same impact after the Cardiff Test when they batted through the final day to save the game. Or at Lord’s, for that matter, where they outplayed Australia for most of the time. In fact, I am not sure I would agree that England are a soft team. Yes, there were a few soft dismissals at Headingley, but that is not quite the same thing. The biggest concern must be Bopara. He looks out of his depth at No 3 and with a top score of 35 in seven innings I don’t see how he can play at the Oval.

The middle order is very fragile at the moment. That’s why it staggered me that Jonathan Trott was not in the side. Going with a fifth bowler instead looked a weird selection. I would pick Rob Key at three for the decider. He knows himself, he knows his game and he has experience of playing against Australia.

Paul Collingwood is another struggling without Kevin Pietersen in the side. He is not good enough to be the No 1 batsman in the middle order and he will be having nightmares about Stuart Clark, who has now dismissed him five times in six Tests. It reminds me a bit of the way I had the wood on Daryll Cullinan. As soon as Clark bowls to him, Collingwood gets out his floppy ears and resembles a rabbit.

Justin’s description of Jimmy Anderson as a “pussy” was interesting. I didn’t think Anderson’s body language was good at Headingley. He is certainly capable of bowling better. It didn’t surprise me to hear Andrew Strauss say afterwards that Anderson had a bit of hamstring trouble. Aside from that, I don’t like the way that Anderson has re-invented himself as a bit of a sledger. It isn’t him.

England seemed to get ahead of themselves at Edgbaston. Going into the final day they thought they would be 2-0 up coming to Headingley. And while I think Strauss was right when he said that Australia have lost their aura — inevitable given that some of the team had only played a few games — I would tug on his coat about the timing of his words. It suggested that they were a bit overconfident.

I hope Australia get a lot of credit for the performance. Clarke and Marcus North were superb again, as they were at Edgbaston. The bowling was top class, the best of the series so far. They worked really well in partnerships and I wonder now how they will get Hauritz into the side for the Oval, where it usually turns.

England players now need to go back and play for their counties. They must find form and rhythm over the next week.

With the short game at Headingley and rain at Edgbaston they’ve probably only played for six days in the past fortnight, and they now have ten days before the next Test. It would really disappoint me if they decide to rest.