Shaun Marsh century leaves England staring down the barrel as Australia seize control on second day in Adelaide

Australia 442-8 dec, England 29-1: Marsh's unbeaten knock hammered home the advantage for the hosts before rain ended play prematurely

Shaun Marsh batted Australia into a dominant position in Adelaide (Getty)

Perhaps it was the bit when Nathan Lyon hit Craig Overton disdainfully for six. Perhaps it was the moment Alastair Cook and James Vince bumped into each other going for a catch. Perhaps it was when Shaun Marsh danced down the pitch and put Stuart Broad into the members’ enclosure. It was hard to pinpoint the exact moment. But sometime during the afternoon session, this series simply stopped being fun for England. A monumental task lies ahead of them if it is ever to be fun again.

You may hear about this being the day when the “wheels fell off”. But it wasn’t quite as dramatic as all that. There was no Mitchell Johnson blitzkrieg this time, no cataclysmic implosion, no mid-series retirement in the offing. They were picked apart rather than ripped apart, the wheels not so much falling off as being punctured one at a time. England, so bullish and effervescent in advance of this game, were ground to a halt by the smart cricket they aspire to play themselves.

With the bat, Australia sprang from their overnight platform to amass a total that would have been imposing enough during the daytime. Marsh (126 not out) and Tim Paine (57) saw off the second new ball. Then as English limbs and minds began to tire, Marsh and Cummins (44) very nearly took them into a third.

With the ball, Mitchell Starc took the early wicket of Mark Stoneman before rain washed out what could have turned into a nightmarish night session. They are not cooked just yet. There are runs in this pitch, especially when the ball softens. But three days remain in this match, and to save or win it they will need to bat for more than two of them.

And so Australia have done to England exactly what England said they were going to do to Australia: frustrate, suffocate, exhaust. This has been the slowest Ashes series since the 1990s, and during it Australia have played with a rare and valuable patience: judging conditions, pacing their efforts, using their local knowledge and competitive instincts. You can have all the finely-tuned plans and sharply-honed strategies you want, but sometimes learning is no substitute for simply knowing.

Even in England’s truncated nine-over session with the bat, you could see the difference. Mitchell Starc slung it down at 93mph, full and attacking the stumps. Josh Hazlewood popped it on a perfect length, full and attacking the stumps from a different angle. Cummins only got one ball, but his length is naturally a little shorter. There is colour and texture to this attack, whereas England’s four-man pace attack simply offered varying shades of grey.

Marsh's century feels like a pivotal moment of this series (Getty)

English-style conditions, too, offered little solace. The pink ball was just an over old at the start of the play, with plenty of zip in the pitch, a fair breeze and good carry. Broad, fresh and vivacious, got Peter Handscomb LBW with his third delivery of the morning, roaring in Handscomb’s face as he wheeled past in celebration.

But it was the only time England bared their teeth all day. Anderson bowled better than he did on day one, and was unlucky rather than errant. He pinned Marsh dead in front, only for Marsh to chance his arm on a review and earn a sensational reprieve, the ball clearing the balls by half an inch. In his very next over, remarkably, exactly the same thing happened to Paine. Later, an edge by Cummins just failed to carry to Jonny Bairstow. It was one of those days.

Cummins late order runs added to England's misery (Getty)

All the while, Marsh and Paine hurtled on. Marsh was initially content to survive, but Paine played his shots, despite being hit painfully on the same right index finger that he broke a few years ago. He lifted Moeen Ali over cover for four, over mid-wicket for six, reached an impressive and important third Test fifty. The impressive Overton returned from the Cathedral End and suckered him into a top-edged hook, and shortly after tea Starc went the same way.

But Australia were already beyond 300, after being put into bat, and the comfort blanket of runs in the board seemed to embolden them. Cummins took 37 balls to get off the mark but quickly found his range, hitting his highest Test score. Marsh pulled the disappointing Chris Woakes to the square leg boundary to bring up his first Ashes hundred, a genuinely heartwarming moment for a batsman whose selection was greeted with scorn.

Root and his team have numerous problems to solve (Getty)

Australia were helping themselves to singles as easily as if they were Starbucks napkins. England’s body language was atrocious. At one stage, Root simply buried his face in his dark blue cap, as if searching for answers within. But there was nothing in there but sweat and polyester lining. After Cummins departed, Marsh took Broad for 15 in an over, persuading Steve Smith - waving imperiously on the balcony like Augustus at the amphitheatre - to call a halt to the slaughter.

Dusk descended to match England’s spirits, with 28 overs for England to bat, and still plenty of mischief in the pitch. Stoneman began briskly, slashing a couple of cut shots over gully for four. But Starc’s full length and some late swing did for him soon enough. Vince spent a few overs looking like someone who had won a competition to play in the Ashes. But a sudden squall forced the players from the pitch, and to the disappointment of 52,000 fans, that was that.

Australia countered late before rain curtailed the final session (Getty)

Already, this looks like becoming the eighth Ashes series out of nine to be won by the home team. Should England continue to slide in this game, the tendency will be towards condemnation: towards Root for bowling first, towards the bowlers for pitching it too short, towards the ECB, because why not? But such is the advantage of home conditions that England could conceivably lose this series 5-0 and still begin the 2019 Ashes as narrow favourites.

And so, perhaps the definition of success for England here simply needs to be recalibrated. A win. A century. Keeping the series alive beyond Christmas. Or maybe it is something as simple as giving a genuine account of themselves, providing an alternative narrative to a series that so far has offered but one.