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After being comprehensively beaten in the first Test, the signs looked positive moving forward for the men in the Baggy Green, handing the English a crushing defeat at Lord’s to the tune of 405 runs.
However, Australia’s hopes of taking a series lead have been all but dashed at Edgbaston with two incredibly poor performances with the bat.
Dismissed in the first innings for just 136, the Australian’s fortunes are not improving much in the second, and will resume on day three at 7/168 after the top order again failed to fire.
And unfortunately Australia’s deficiencies with the bat are coming from the top.
Michael Clarke is on the brink - his form is certainly down and his position as captain of the country is being questioned like never before.
What’s even more unfortunate for Pup is that the numbers aren’t stacking up well either.
The decline of Clarke has been rapid, and continuously worrying since the 2013 Ashes series in England, in which he was the second-highest run-scorer for the Aussies with 381 for the series.
Since then, it has been a slippery slope for Clarke, who hasn’t managed a score over 38 in 12 innings.
His career average is 49.73, but has put an enormous dint in this figure over the past two years, averaging just 17.3 since the 2013 Ashes series in England.
The Aussie captain hasn’t made too many scores of significance in this time - in fact he has only managed 173 runs in 12 attempts - a sharp fall from grace considering his astounding form no more than three years ago.
It’s not all negative for the skipper however - he hasn’t registered a duck in the past two years, nevertheless his numbers are still a cause for concern for the selectors.
The chairman of selectors Rod Marsh has backed Clarke, but one thinks this may be due entirely to the fact that he is the skipper.
Are his days numbered?