Wearing lumbar corsets may have affected the swing's speed and accuracy as well as the carrying distance, or length of the shot, they said.

WSJ: Will Corsets Help Golf-Related Back Pain?

With no pace in the wicket, and just a bit of swing and seam, Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus bowled too straight and struggled to find the right length, allowing Strauss and Alastair Cook to tick along smoothly enough.

BBC: England make solid start to Ashes