What the Australian media are saying about the Ashes

Australian media on Monday were praying for more rain after day three of the Ashes, as England moved to 551-4 on day three to amass a 306-run lead before showers saw play abandoned after the tea break.

Herald Sun

Backpage headline: "Heaven help us"

"England has belted 5-1068 in its past two innings. Now it's up to Australia's batsmen - or the weather - to keep us in the hunt for this."

"Do you want the bad news or the really bad news? The bad news is that Australian cricket has reached the bottom of the barrel. Let us not kid ourselves.

"There is no short-term fix for ailing Australia ... not a single player outside the test team who would make a serious difference to the Ashes series. Everyone worth a game has been given a game." - Robert Craddock

The Australian

Sport headline: "Battered Aussies on life support."

Cricket writer Peter Lalor wrote of an "unforgettable day of suffering."

"To suggest Ricky Ponting's men were a rabble would be unkind to rabbles near and far. To suggest this was a farce would be inappropriate because this is supposed to be serious.

"Some moments from Sunday Effing Sunday at the Adelaide Oval will live forever, much like the scenes that play behind the eyelids of those who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder."

The Age

"England widens gulf of despair," wrote sports writer Greg Baum.

"How quickly it seems the tables have been upturned. As recently as two months ago, two Australian players insisted Australia was still the No. 1 country in the world, belying the rankings. Punters made Australia a warm favourite for this series.

"It was the disposition of a country in denial ... In the white noise of 365-days-a-year cricket, this shift in power has been lost. Forcibly, England has re-announced it."

Daily Telegraph

The Sydney-based tabloid exhorted Australian cricket fans to "join our rain dance to halt Poms in second Ashes test."

It gave a six-step rain-dance, with the final step suggesting: "Dancers can stop and twirl in imitation of the wind, which is showing the promise of rain. Women may chant or sing, and men can yelp with the beat."

"If this doesn't work, maybe we can hatch a plan to bring back Warnie."