England found themselves cast adrift and bobbing aimlessly at Lord’s while the Aussies revved up their engines and disappeared off into the Ashes horizon.
And the hope that this series might be a competitive classic is in danger of being a pipe dream at the earliest opportunity. The bare numbers are there. A first innings lead of 91 for Australia was extended to 221 by the close of day three with eight second innings wickets to play with and their two centurions in the series so far well set.
It didn’t need the drizzle and dark clouds that forced the players off the ground early to add to the sense of gloom in North London.
That was already there thanks to a day of dozy batting, ineffective bowling and error strewn fielding - not to mention the miscalculations around the review system that gave Marnus Labuschagne a let off.
But to lay the blame for the widening chasm developing between the teams solely at England’s feet would be to utterly ignore the steady competence of the Aussies who have somehow taken a stranglehold on the game without too much difficulty.
A Ben Stokes leading edge on the second ball set the tone for the day and hopes of a glorious England fightback into the series rescinded from there.
Harry Brook might have collected a fourth fifty of his career, but the way he was worked over by the short-ball tactic, eventually flapping at one from Mitchell Starc to be caught at cover does not bode well for the rest of the series.
Jonny Bairstow drove tamely to mid-on, and the lengthy tail, folded meekly while taking the odd blow to boot. The Aussies were flexing their muscles with the ball by now and by taking 6-46 before lunch they had secured the sort of lead that openers love to work with.
The fact that Usman Khawaja was still there on 58 not out when play was abandoned for the day, with Steve Smith for company emphasised the point. Australia are firmly in control.
Simply put, England are in need of a bit of magic. But where it might come from is hard to pinpoint. James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been conjuring up spells for years, but their shelf of potions looks empty.
Even when Broad thought he had his man with a vigorous appeal against Labuschagne for lbw, he couldn’t persuade his skipper to ask for the review. Such is England’s luck it would have been out. Broad was ticking at the injustice of it all, but his overzealous appealing works against him because his captain can’t be sure what is genuine.
Anderson eventually removed Labuschagne for 30 with a wide long hop outside off stump that he carved to backward point with the keeper standing up. He has not been a major wicket-taking threat yet in this series.
What about Stokes? He has made a career of being the man to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and bend it to his will, but he looks as though he can just about grab his spikes at the moment.
And to add insult to injury, Ollie Pope again hurt his right shoulder in the field and was forced back into the pavilion where he had wanted to remain until the umpire’s told him he had to get out there if he wanted to bat at three in the second innings.
England were not happy with that decision, especially if it ends up ruling Pope out of the next match at Headingley. Just one and a half games in and England are in pieces and in danger of suffering the sort of fate they are used to Down Under.
They have two days left to find some inspiration and some Bazball brilliance, because right now they are a distant second best.
