It can be argued that with all the controversy of the most recent Ashes series Down Under, England were in dreamland following their win in Wales. As it turned out, that was likely the case, Australia bringing both players and fans back to reality – at least as far as recent form is concerned – with a merciless display of bat and ball at Lord’s.

England were always behind the eight-ball from the moment Chris Rogers & Steve Smith both made centuries in the first innings, Smith eventually making 215. Not even Mark Wood dismissing Michael Clarke for a single-digit score was enough to take away from the morale boost Australia gained in the days between Cardiff & Lord’s. England  responded with near-centuries from Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes, although Clarke still could’ve used the follow-on had he wanted. The second innings, though, could not have gone any worse for England; their leading batsman turned out to be one of their opening bowlers, Stuart Broad. All-rounders Ben Stokes & Moeen Ali were both dismissed for ducks – Stokes being run out in an unlucky circumstance, to be fair – while Gary Ballance’s struggles continued, prompting serious questions about his Test future. However, although England were that bad at Lord’s, Australia at the same time were that good. To paraphrase one writer, Clarke wanted to give his bowlers five sessions to bowl the hosts out a second time; they only needed one-and-a-half.

The good news for England is now they have more than a week to prepare themselves for the third Test at Edgbaston. Just like 10 years ago, the players will go straight from London to Birmingham for matches, which in 2005 led to arguably the most dramatic Test in history. Of the two squads, only Michael Clarke remains from that thrilling series, likely with vivid memories of how Australia came so close to snatching victory away. With this year’s series neatly poised at 1-1, it’s hard to imagine this Test ending in a draw without some assistance from the elements. Again, the first day (July 29) will prove key to the result.