Australia closing in on Ashes glory

It's not over til it's over. But the odds of England Ashes glory are currently stretched to breaking point. Thursday's third Test is a make-or-break encounter at the legendary WACA in Perth, a venue where England have won just once in its 47-year Test history, and that was way back in 1978-79.

So, don't get your hopes up, would seem to be the bookmaker's message, with England currently 25/1 to stage a remarkable comeback and snaffle the series 3-2. The odds of a 5-0 whitewash, on the other hand, have scurried into view at 9/4, a ludicrously short-priced favourite that reflects both recent Ashes history (England have lost 5-0 on two of their past three Ashes tours) and the current state of an England team that is being outplayed on the field, and out-psyched off it.

Even a 2-2 draw, which would be sufficient for England to retain the urn - is a stiff ask for the visitors. Bet365 currently price that at 18/1, far longer odds that the 15/2 that an Australia 3-2 win would cost.

Joe Root is still considered the likeliest man to lead an England fightback, however. With half-centuries in each of the first two Tests (but nothing more substantial than his second-innings 67 at Adelaide), he is 13/5 to be England's series top-scorer. Intriguingly, Alastair Cook is still backed to make an impression - he is second-favourire in that market at 4/1 - in spite of looking horribly out of sorts in the first two Tests. Perhaps Kevin Pietersen's suggestion that he looks close to retirement will irk him to new levels of watchfulness.

Ben Stokes, incidentally, is still intriguingly priced at 13/2 to be England's top-scorer, in spite of his guaranteed absence from at least the third Test. That is deemed a likelier outcome than any of Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali or Dawid Malan topping the run-charts. That's a pretty damning verdict on an England campaign that currently looks to be in disarray.