Australia v England

At Adelaide, November 21, 22, 23, 24, 2002. Australia won by an innings and 51 runs. Toss: England.

When England reached 295 for three with four balls of the first day remaining, they appeared for once to be offering a genuine challenge to Australia. Then, however, Vaughan's magnificent if controversial innings of 177 was ended and, in little more than seven further sessions, England descended to a crushing defeat. Australia's superiority in every facet was again obvious and, despite Hussain's insistence to the contrary, they dominated the touring team mentally as well as technically. Already, with three Tests of the series to go, the bookmakers were rating a 5-0 whitewash as odds-on.

Vaughan's dismissal in the 90th over of the opening day was a microcosm of why Australia are so good. He had batted sublimely and, metaphorically at least, his head was touching the pillow after a full day's labour. Yet Australia never relent. Steve Waugh brought back Bichel, an honest toiler alongside three wonderful craftsmen, for a single over; he ran in as hard as if it was his first spell, nudged one away from Vaughan's bat and Warne held the catch at slip. It was the turning point of the match.

Bichel did it again when Waugh turned to him for the final over of the third evening, and he breached Hussain's defences. Equally revealing, and even more spectacular, was Vaughan's second-innings dismissal: a running, diving, stunning catch by McGrath at deep square leg. McGrath, who was in the middle of a spell at the time, is a six-and-a-half-foot quick bowler and as such meant to be a lumberer in the field. It is unlikely that any of England's bowlers would have even contemplated a catch, let alone possessed the athleticism actually to reach the ball.

England's preparation was even more chaotic than usual. Giles's left wrist was broken by Harmison in the nets two days before the game - just after he had been measured for a new, longer armguard - and he became the third player, following Jones and Gough, to fly home. Flintoff and Crawley were also still unfit and, when Vaughan tweaked his knee during pre-match fielding practice, England's problems had become almost comical. Hussain decided Vaughan had to play: the alternative was recruiting a batsman from the National Academy, whose winter quarters were conveniently nearby.

In fact, Vaughan batted superbly, driving and pulling and punching his trademark backfoot shots behind square on the off side, often from good length balls. When he had scored 19, the naked eye insisted he was caught by Langer at point and TV replays appeared to provide corroboration. But Vaughan, like most batsmen these days, stood his ground and Steve Davis, like most third umpires these days, judged him not out. Once more, debate raged about the efficacy of TV decisions for catches.

Vaughan gave two more chances, at 56 and 151, and Hussain was also reprieved twice as they put on 140 together. In the afternoon, Vaughan reached his fifth Test century of 2002, and he went on to what was then England's highest innings in a Test in Australia since Mike Denness scored 188 in Melbourne 28 years earlier. But once he was dismissed, the remainder of the batting subsided meekly; next morning, England lost their final six wickets for 47. Gillespie, operating with pace and intelligence, turned in a spell of four for ten in 32 balls.

Hayden and Langer responded with their seventh century opening stand in Tests, at nearly five and a half an over - Caddick's initial spell of seven overs cost 40 runs - and then Ponting made his second century of the series. Although he was not as commanding as at Brisbane, there was a feeling of inevitability as he cruised to three figures, with dazzling footwork, certainty of stroke and hard running between the wickets - he struck only nine boundaries. England suffered a gruelling time in the field. Caddick was restricted by a back problem and Harmison, fast enough to cause some unsettling moments, was so drained by the end that he struggled to reach the stumps. With Vaughan unable to field after being struck on the right shoulder by Gillespie while batting, England used four different substitutes. Catches continued to go down - five, including Martyn, who was badly spilled by Stewart on 37 as he and Ponting added 242 for the third wicket. White collected four wickets, including his brother-in-law, Lehmann. Australia's lower order continued to plunder the weary attack, extending the first-innings lead to 210.

Tired and dejected by their toil in the field, England lost three wickets inside 12 overs on the third evening. Although Vaughan and Stewart added 74 next morning, Australia's march to victory was not long delayed. Stewart reached 8,000 Test runs when 52, and Dawson had the temerity to strike McGrath for three off-side boundaries in as many balls, but McGrath, as usual, had the final word, finishing with four wickets, plus his astonishing catch. By then it was occasionally spitting with rain; on what would have been the fifth day it poured, taunting a demoralised team.

So, for the second successive Test, England enjoyed one day when they matched Australia, but were ruthlessly punished for their inability to sustain such standards. At 2-0 down, pressure was building on Hussain. That well-known voice of reason, Merv Hughes, suggested he should be sacked at once. Hussain himself knew Australia would not let up: "They want to beat us 5-0. They'll be completely cut-throat, they'll show no mercy at all."

Man of the Match: R. T. Ponting. Attendance: 78,508.

Close of play: First day, England 295-4 (Butcher 22); Second day, Australia 247-2 (Ponting 83, Martyn 48); Third day, England 36-3 (Vaughan 17).