You could be forgiven for thinking the outcome of this Ashes series had already been decided with Australia having packed up the urn and tucked it away safely for the journey back down under.
The fervour that surrounded the final Test at The Oval four years ago is now a distant memory as the atmosphere in the lead up to Thursday’s decider has all the tension of a damp squib.
This despite the fact that England remain just one victory away from regaining what they lost in a nose-rubbing 5-0 humiliation in 2007.
The capitulation at Headingley has left Andrew Strauss’ men as 4/1 outsiders to pull off a second consecutive Ashes success on home shores with the bookmakers not the only ones sensing the confidence currently coursing through the Aussie camp.
In the words of a now famous Polish commentator, our boys took one hell of a beating and the introduction of Jonathan Trott in place of the technically and mentally suspect Ravi Bopara has done nothing to arrest the feeling that England are slightly worse than one of the worst Australian sides in recent history.
The South Africa-born batsman is in fine form at Warwickshire, but as has been pointed out since he was first tipped to oust the unfortunate Bobara, an Ashes Test carries its own unique pressures that are absent in First Class cricket.
But should he manage to shake off those debut nerves and rise to the occasion, you can get 11/2 with Ladbrokes on him making a debut century, while the same odds are available with totesport, Boylesports and Betfred on Trott being England’s best batsman - fairly inviting given the abject failure on the part of the others who have wielded the willow for England this summer - Strauss partially excepted.
But if Trott is likely to be feeling a little jittery, he can console himself with the knowledge that he is likely to be fairing a little better than his county team-mate Ian Bell - a batsman with infallible technique but the mental fortitude of a kitten stuck up a tree.
The 11 runs he amassed in two innings at Headingley have somehow seen him promoted up the order to number three, a position he has failed to make his own despite being given numerous opportunities to do so.
But what a story it would be if the Bell could toll and the Warwickshire batsman could confound the critics and help wrestle the Ashes from Ricky Ponting’s grasp - William Hill are offering 6/1 on him hitting a century, but if you really fancy a punt, you can get 9/1 with Blue Square on Bell being top scorer in the match - it couldn’t happen, could it?
