Ricky Ponting will enter the defining game of his captaincy with his team firing on nearly every cylinder while England is in disarray after Australia's series-levelling victory at Headingley on Sunday night.
Eleven days out from the fifth and deciding Test at The Oval, which Australia needs only to draw to retain the Ashes, the contrast in fortunes between the two sides could not be starker.
With its attack again sipping the magic potion it brewed in South Africa, Australia's only form worry is Michael Hussey though his trough, however deep, pales into insignificance when compared to England's batting malaise.
Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood - the men who occupy slots three to five in England's line-up - contributed just 16 runs between them at Headingley.
Such is the desperation in England, veteran Mark Ramprakash - who turns 40 next month and played the last of his 52 Tests more than seven years ago - is being talked about in some quarters as a potential remedy.
When Ramprakash made his Test debut in 1991, Stuart Broad - the youngest player in England's current XI - was just four years old.
"That's all started, which for us is terrific," said Ponting, who is just one win or a draw away from exorcising forever the demons from 2005.
"I'll just focus on what's ahead of us, which is a couple of days off now, then a tour game and preparation for a fifth Test match which is going to be one of the best moments of my career."
"And some of the other guys are ultra keen to get themselves into the side for the last game and that's what cricket's all about for me."
"One-one going into the last match of an Ashes series at a great oval, all of our guys will certainly be up and ready to play that game."
Australia will no doubt celebrate this success with gusto but need only to peep into the England dressing room next door for a reminder of how quickly things can unravel.
"Everything is heading in the right direction for us at exactly the right time of the tour," Ponting said.
"I've said from the start how much it would mean to me to win here (in England) and it's exactly the same for every other guy on this touring squad at the moment."
"We've been waiting for this moment to come around and now that we've got things back on track and are playing good cricket then we're all very excited about it. It's going to be a very special week for us next week."
The next few days will be anything but special for Andrew Strauss's men, who will have their performance, psyche and character dissected by the poisonous pens of Fleet Street and 55 million compatriots.
Strauss called for calm in the wake of his team's abject failure and said he would be 'very resistant' to make wholesale changes for the decider.
"We have to find out the fitness of Freddie (Andrew Flintoff) and where he is at and then obviously the balance of the side is an issue as well," Strauss said.
"Those are all issues that we have to throw into the melting pot and make sure we're clear on which direction we need to go in come that final Test match."
"When we arrive at The Oval next Thursday what's gone on counts for nothing."
"It's 1-1 in the series and winner takes all. You need 11 guys to stand up and want it enough, be desperate enough to win it and if you get into that situation you've got a good chance of winning."