Aussies in a different league

England could still win the series, he added to general incredulity. But that's the credo he so successfully keeps drumming into his side: "If the challenge isn't tough, make yourself believe it is."

It's that determination to play every Test like it was their last which explains why, say, a 32-yearold paceman in the middle of a spell should still be prepared to run 30 yards and risk injury by taking off almost horizontally to attempt an impossible catch in the deep.

Today, they were still asking in awed tones here whether that Glenn McGrath catch - old "Pigeon" becoming a soaring eagle - to get rid of Michael Vaughan was the best we'd ever seen. A miracle, Waugh called it, yet the real miracle is that whenever it is most required, one of these Australians always seems fated to produce a match-changing moment.

And it doesn't necessarily have to come from one of the superstars. What, for instance, would England give to possess a supposed bitsandpieces player like Andy Bichel? He took the crucial wicket of Vaughan with the last ball of the first day - a moment which, in retrospect, looks to have been the definitive one - then, batting at nine, smashed 48 off 61 balls to put Australia out of sight before taking off his pads and, again in Saturday's final over, bowling Hussain with a beauty of a delivery.

"When teams play against us, they know they're up against 11 players all the time, not 10, nine or eight," was the way Waugh put it. England may carry passengers; Australia have only drivers with no egos.

So just when Vaughan and Alec Stewart were threatening stubborn resistance here yesterday with rain on its way, McGrath's blazing commitment to team and not self meant they could beat even the elements.

The most graphic illustration of this side's relentless aggression with the bat and unforgiving attack with the ball, is that of the 31 wins under Waugh, 20 have come with at least a day to spare. It was pouring down in Adelaide today. No worries, mate, when you've effectively patented the four-day Test.

Yes, England under-performed, but Australia raise their game at vital stages. This game was lost on Friday morning when Jason Gillespie and Warne bowled so superbly in tandem and new boys like Robert Key simply found the examination too tough. Even Waugh admitted: "It's difficult to imagine us playing much better."

Ian Botham is never shy of offering criticism but he too felt this was a weekend to offer perspective. "Australia are so far ahead that the rest of the teams are virtually in a separate competition," he said.

It's always easier to criticise than to compliment, reckoned McGrath. "That's probably why people focus more on how poor every other country is supposed to be rather than admitting Australia's playing some exceptional cricket. England aren't as bad as everyone makes out. It's just that they're playing a great team who are perhaps playing some of the greatest cricket ever."

And so to Perth, where Pigeon and his flock will doubtless start working on the invention of the three-day Test...