Australia's anguish under English skies in this 2015 Test series was illuminated brightly on the Edgbaston wicket: where have the skill of Michael Clarke and the middle order gone?
Where once a solid four, five and six triumvirate would grind away consolidating or papering over any opening failure, and the crowd could settle into a good book or a queue for warm beer, this tour has instead emphasised that the critical middle order batting prowess is indeed thin.
Captain Clarke, who could once be relied on to notch up a steady half-century or more, has amassed a mere 94 from the six innings of the Ashes series. 
His wicket has gone cheaply - in the past few days at Edgbaston he couldn't counter the sheer 145km/h pace of Steve Finn, and his batting average on tour so far is 18.8, only marginally better than his other middle-order mates, Mitchell Marsh (15) and Adam Voges (14.6). For the first time in three years Clarke's overall batting average has dropped below 50.
The 405-run victory at Lord's, was more about the capitulation of England and the opening batsmen's domination rather than the middle order stepping up.
England have sensed that Clarke's poor batting has undermined his captaincy and they are keen to exploit divisions in the dressing room - overt ones such as the disquiet about the non--selection of Brad Haddin for the third Test and the subterranean power struggle between coach Darren Lehmann, Clarke and heir apparent Steve Smith.
Opening batsman David Warner, who at one point had -accumulated three quarters of Australia's second innings at Edgbaston, reaching 75 when the tally was 5-100, was perplexed about Clarke's sudden loss of form.
"Things aren't going too great for him, but he's put in the hard yards at training that's for sure, I cant fault his efforts there," Warner said.
England fast bowler Steven Finn said no one in the England dressing room was taking Clarke lightly because everyone has experienced him ''when he's torn us apart".
But the malaise has gone well beyond Clarke, who has struggled with back injuries and the loss of his "little brother" Phillip Hughes last year, and seems to have affected those in the order below him.
The middle-order batsmen have failed to concentrate and pick the balls that wobbled and seamed, withering under the bowling attack of Jimmy Anderson and a now rejuvenated Finn. Their indecisiveness is a worry for Lehmann.
Outside of the top three, the next best batsman on tour is replacement wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, who averages above 35 and bowling firebrand Mitchell Johnson, with a 30.5 average.
The discontent began in the first Test in Cardiff, where Shane Watson's innings of 30 and 19, and Brad Haddin's 22 and 7 were well below their Test career averages of 35.19 and 32.9 respectively. But Voges and Marsh have hardly ignited the scoreboard either.
England bowlers have generally been attacking the off stump and getting movement off the seam, and Finn noted that the ball moving through the air was troubling the tourists.
Johnson said some wickets had been given cheaply because batsmen were playing deliveries they could have left. Warner preferred to blame the crowd - "they are singing behind England and it helps them" - and the opposition bowlers - "six or seven of us got out to genuinely good balls".
Yet in those same conditions, the tail has wagged.The Australia A team has been playing India in Chennai and once this series is over, the selectors' eyes will turn to in-form opener Cameron Bancroft, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja.