There are some strong contenders, but this was the worst day so far in England’s attempt at regaining the Ashes.
Saturday at the beautiful Adelaide Oval, the third day of the second Test, was created to bat.
Whereas on the previous evening England were saved 45 minutes of treacherous conditions – when they would probably have lost at least one more wicket – by a lightning storm, they were instead presented with 30 degree heat, a gentle breeze and flat pitch.
They were some of the best batting conditions these players will ever encounter in their entire careers.
It was a time when we wanted England to stand up and show they will not be bullied by the Australians. Instead, they will almost certainly lose this Test and be 2-0 down with three to play.
To lose eight wickets for 86 runs, be all out for 236 and bowling again with Australia building their massive lead is inexcusable.
The collapse was made worse by the way Joe Root and Dawid Malan played in a wicketless first session.
They again showed they are currently head and shoulders above the rest of England’s batting, Malan making 80 and Root 62 in a third-wicket stand of 138.
They were positive without being reckless, providing an example to the rest.
Still, they too were culpable in England’s demise. Root got a reasonable delivery from Cameron Green, but Malan’s shot at Mitchell Starc was loose.
After that, the two that really missed out were Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler.
This was Pope’s chance to show what we all think he is capable of, only for him to look jittery and unsettled.
You can say he was unlucky to be caught at short leg, but the fact is he hit it in the direction of a fielder at chest height.
As for Buttler, he went 14 balls without scoring. You could feel the pressure, his desire to do something.
Sure enough, Starc fed him a wide one, Buttler went for a flat-footed drive, and it resulted in an edge to first slip.
For any talk about how England might tackle the second new ball under the floodlights, they were nine wickets down, with only Stuart Broad and James Anderson at the crease.
What makes the collapse all the more demoralising was it came against a makeshift Australia attack.
Starc and Nathan Lyon were excellent, but with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing, Jhye Richardson went at more than four an over and Michael Neser’s only wicket from 11 overs came from Haseeb Hameed’s chip to mid-on.
Now, Pope and Buttler join Rory Burns in being under pressure to get a score in the second innings.
Personally, I do not blame Burns for his dismissal on the second evening – he got a good ball after being in the field for 150 overs. Still, you cannot hide that he failed again.
The vultures are circling around Buttler because of costly mistakes behind the stumps, but he was one of the few England batsmen to look vaguely fluent in the first Test at the Gabba.
And, even if England do decide to make changes, they will be calling on players who have had no cricket on a tour where limited preparation was shortened by the weather and the Tests are back-to-back, providing no other opportunities for time in the middle.
Would England be better recalling Zak Crawley to replace Burns? By the third Test in Melbourne, Burns will at least have had two matches, whereas Crawley will have had nothing.
What about replacing Buttler with Jonny Bairstow? Do they really want to be passing the gloves around? The same goes for bringing in Dan Lawrence in place of Pope.
Before they can think about the next Test, England have to show some fight in this one.
The few England supporters that are here and the many that are following through the night at home can be forgiven if their patience is starting to wear thin.
Ashes cricket is important, and England are on course to lose an 11th Test in 12 attempts down under.
So many people invest a lot – time, money, hope – into an Ashes series and we are already starting to see some long faces from those watching on, both English and Australian. Even the Aussies do not want England to capitulate, because they want to see a contest.
And yet, it is hard to escape from the feeling of ‘here we go again’.
England can expect to be batting again on Sunday evening, facing the prospect of having to come through two sessions under the floodlights in order to save the game.
They should be able to make it difficult for Australia, but I still expect the home side to bowl them out and win the Test.
Where would England go from there?
I hope they prove me wrong.
Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport’s chief cricket writer Stephan Shemilt.
