There were chuckles the other day when Mitchell Johnson was asked if Australia could whitewash England in the one-day series.
But should the visitors make it three from three on Wednesday night at Southampton's Rose Bowl a 7-0 scoreline deserves serious consideration.
Captain Ricky Ponting is back on Saturday, Brett Lee will only get better with more games under his belt and with every win Australia's self-belief becomes even stronger.
The series is only two matches old but already a trend has developed.
Australia starts well, gets itself into a bind with bat and ball then wiggles out of trouble.
England, on the other hand, is lacking the star quality to reverse its fortunes let alone grab a victory when it's within reach.
Minus Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff for the entire series, and Stuart Broad for this game, the Poms look very ho-hum.
Inevitably, it will be asked why Australia is faring so well in 50-over cricket after a spluttering Ashes campaign.
The answer lies in the bowling. Australia's Test attack was, and still is, relatively green but not so with the one-day team.
Lee and Nathan Bracken, with more than 470 wickets between them, are excellent exponents of the 50-over game and Nathan Hauritz, at this stage of his career, is a better One-Day International than Test player.
Although vulnerable to cop tap at times, Lee and Johnson's abilities to take wickets is undeniable. And in the contemporary limited-overs game attack is the best method of defence.
"It's hard work," said England all-rounder Luke Wright. "Him and Johnson are playing well. It's one thing that's been so good for them over the years."
"The middle period, they've been able to come on, bowl at 94mph (150kmh) and take wickets."
"That's the one thing they've got on us. It's our jobs to be able to play that."
Conversely, England's bowling lacks bite once the ball loses its shine. The military medium pace of Wright, Tim Bresnan and Paul Collingwood doesn't leave batsmen trembling in their boots.
Andrew Strauss intimated after Sunday's defeat that the decision to drop leggie Adil Rashid, who was excellent with bat and ball in the opener, was the wrong one.
Any wicket where Collingwood's cutters can prove effective is one which will be conducive to spin.
Australia has made plenty of mistakes with the bat but enough players are in form to suggest a red-letter total is not far away.
Callum Ferguson continues to underline why selectors threw him onto the international stage despite his numbers at domestic level not demanding such faith.
The South Australian owns two half-centuries from as many games this series, swelling his run tally to 504 at a princely 56 since his debut last summer.
His ability to score runs under pressure and in any situation is an indication of why there are such lofty expectations of him.
Ponting will be back for the final four matches, his body freshened and resolve steeled from a sabbatical.
If England cannot win here, its task will only get more difficult in the run home.