Australia is bracing itself for another banana-bending exhibition of swing bowling from England as it aims to square the series in the fourth Test starting at Headingley on Friday.
Unhinged by James Anderson's swing at Lord's and again at Edgbaston, Australia vowed on Tuesday that it would knuckle down and show more caution should the ball again curl and hoop.
The 'barbecue summer' predicted for England has not eventuated, leaving the fields green and lush, and conventional rather than reverse swing has been the home side's weapon of choice against Australia's batsmen.
How the Headingley wicket - which has produced results in its past 10 Tests - will play will be governed by what is above rather than below, locals say.
A predominantly grey forecast for the five days of the Test could see prolonged periods where ball dominates bat.
England ensured it would be well equipped in the swing department by including left-arm paceman Ryan Sidebottom in its 14-man squad.
Sidebottom's ability to move the ball back into the right-hander adds another variation to England's attack, which was plundered by Australia's batsmen in unresponsive conditions on Monday.
Western Australia batsman Marcus North, whose innings of 96 helped Australia save the third Test, said the tourists needed to improve the way they negotiated the swinging ball.
"Without a doubt we did not apply ourselves as well as we could in the first innings (at Edgbaston) when the ball was swinging around," North said.
"It is just one of those innings that did not go as well as I would have liked but I am sure that the rest of us as a batting group will change that around in Headingley."
Having played for five different counties in England, North is as good as any player in the Australian touring party to comment on the Headingley conditions.
"It does swing around a bit when it does get overcast," he said.
"It is just a matter of us being a bit more disciplined in the way that we are batting and it is not the first time we faced the swinging ball."
Anderson, the series' second leading wicket-taker, will again be England's most dangerous bowler should conditions suit.
Battered by Australia's line-up in 2006-07, Anderson's success this series has come as a surprise to some, but not to North.
"I was asked a lot of times leading into this series back in Australia and when I came over here who I thought would be the front man and leading wicket-taker for England, I thought Jimmy Anderson," he said.
"The last 12 to 18 months has shown he's a world-class bowler in Test cricket. He's really matured, we've seen that this series so far. He's bowling exceptionally well."