Could Steve Smith live to regret his thoroughly modern but totally conservative decision not to enforce the follow on with Australia well on top in the second Ashes Test? All of a sudden their total domination came under threat.
When England were bowled out for a score of 227 that would have been far worse but for a display of real character from debutant Craig Overton, the Australian captain had no hesitation in batting again, even though he could have heaped more misery on England under the Adelaide floodlights.
All it succeeded in doing was allow England to gain a sniff of a chance of a remarkable victory – or at least make Australia fight for a 2-0 lead that for much of the first three days has seemed totally guaranteed.
England endured a poor day with the bat as they were bowled all out for 227 on day three
England’s bowlers provided late hope with crucial wickets, including Steve Smith for just six
Craig Overton offered brave resistance with the bat and top scored with 41 not out on debut
Australia ended a tumultuous third day on 53 for four after being forced to face a magnificent display of swing and seam bowling from Jimmy Anderson, but crucially, they are 268 ahead and still very much in the driving seat.
Goodness knows what damage Australia might have done to England if they had been sent straight back in but that is conjecture now. Smith, who became the fourth Australian to fall after earlier being narrowly reprieved by technology, might be kicking himself but he is still the captain most likely to win this Test.
So forget, for now, the display of guts and gumption that saw Overton continue a Test debut of real promise. Forget the superb, world-class new-ball bowling from Anderson under the Adelaide lights. The damage had already been done by then. England had suffered another Australian batting nightmare.
The tone was initially set with the fourth ball of the day which No 3 James Vince edged to slip
There were many of us who expected England to struggle again in these Ashes, particularly when it became clear they would have to take on Australia without Ben Stokes – but they should not be as bad as this as soon as this.
A sense of foreboding surrounded England when they allowed Australia to pile up a formidable 442 for eight on the first two days of this second Test after being put into bat by Joe Root. Sure enough those fears were realised.
England had been given a break by the rain on the second evening that enabled them to avoid a trial by twilight, but they threw away what turned out to be the best batting conditions seen yet in this day-night Test.
Joe Root was out for nine, one of several England batsmen who played bad shots for wickets
This was an awful display from England as, under a bright Adelaide sky, they perished to a series of ill-conceived shots to simply give away the tremendous opportunity they have had here to level this Ashes series.
England competed well for the first three days of the first Test but since then they have been just as bad, if not worse, than the ex-best team in the world that fell apart to lose 5-0 here for years ago. Implosion has been brutal and rapid.
What is it that makes England go from bad to worse once they start losing in Australia? They seem unable to halt the momentum and at least compete once they get behind, as Australia at least do when they go behind in England.
Alastair Cook is caught behind playing an ill-advised push shot for 37 as England struggled
We know how hard it is to win in Australia and we know how seldom any visiting team wins Test series these days, but England are better than they showed and Australia are not as good as they were made to look.
From the moment James Vince played the sort of shot – trying to force Josh Hazlewood through the off-side off the back foot – he must have been warned time and again not to attempt England were rabbits caught in the lights – and they were not even switched on by then.
What followed was a shambolic display, with England showing no patience and very little application as they succumbed to an Australian attack that, admittedly, has far more pace and, it has turned out, far more spin than England.
England lost three successive wickets caught and bowled, the first Moeen Ali to Nathan Lyon
They were just so frenetic while, conversely, Australia rose to the occasion and even started pulling off outstanding return catches while England wilted. For the first half of the third day it really was men against boys.
England’s captain cannot be excused. Root is considered part of the golden quarter of world Test batting along with Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson but he is not yet living up to it.
Here his attempt to be positive, like too many of his charges, was instead simply reckless as he attempted a big booming drive off the outstanding Pat Cummins and found the slip cordon rather than the cover boundary.
Mitchell Starc brilliantly dismissed Jonny Bairstow before also catching out Chris Woakes
The tone had been set and at its worst, when England had crashed to 142 for seven, still 300 behind, the possibility of 19 wickets falling in the day, just like West Indies suffered at Edgbaston last summer, and a three-day defeat was real.
Everything Australia touched turned to gold, including a one-handed, spectacular diving return catch from Nathan Lyon to send back Moeen Ali and an even better grab off his own bowling from Mitchell Starc to dismiss Jonny Bairstow. It should be stressed, however, both had played poor shots.
Yet just as total humiliation beckoned along came Overton, who had been the pick of a poor England bowling lot with three wickets on his debut. Now he showed why he enjoys bowling all-rounder status at Somerset.
Jimmy Anderson dismissed Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja before the close
Overton may have recorded three ducks in his three innings in the warm-up matches but he was picked here after it became clear in Brisbane that Jake Ball could not cope with Australian pace. Overton’s batting ability edged a close call between the pair and here he stood up to Australia with some character.
Starc and Cummins tried to bully Overton but he showed his top order how it should be done in adding 66 with Chris Woakes that persuaded Smith not to enforce the follow on even though England were bowled out 215 behind.
Lyon, almost overlooked ahead of this series when the dangers to England were considered, was again the most successful bowler with four victims that takes his tally for 2017 to 55 wickets, more than any other bowler.
Anderson thought he had Smith for a duck before the seemingly plumb LBW was overturned
If Smith had more than four bowlers at his disposal he might have just been tempted to put England in again under the lights and goodness knows how much damage might have been done in the final session by Australia’s fast bowlers. As it was we saw another demonstration of what still makes Anderson a master of his art.
England’s record wicket-taker was magnificent in a back-bending 11 over spell that saw him take two wickets while conceding just 16 runs. And it would have been three wickets if the biggest scalp of them all in Smith had not reviewed what looked like a plumb lbw. As it turned out the ball had pitched outside leg-stump by a fraction.
Smith was not so fortunate when Chris Woakes, finally locating the right length for Australia, claimed him as his second victim just before the close with Australia very much on the back foot. But anything above 300 will surely be too much for England. Total humiliation avoided but England are still staring down the barrel.