England 5 for 61 (Stokes 23*, Ballance 17*) trail Australia 326 by 265 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The list of disastrous sessions for England throughout this series is growing longer by the day. At 5 for 23, it looked like the first session on day two in Sydney might be the worst of the bunch.
Ben Stokes and Gary Ballance restored some vague level of steadiness in the lead-up to the break but the fact that they were the only two men to reach double figures said it all. England had been Johnsoned, Harrised and Siddled.
As Ballance, fresh from a nerve-rattling bouncer to the helmet from Johnson, walked off at the break on 17 alongside Stokes on 23, it was still far from certain that England would score the 66 more runs they needed to avoid the follow on.
The pitch had offered some seam movement but it was not extravagant; Australia's bowlers had just exploited it far better than England's attack. Bowl full, let it swing and if it doesn't it might seam, draw the batsman forward. It was textbook stuff.
From the moment Alastair Cook padded up from the second ball of the morning and was lbw to Ryan Harris, England were in disarray. The ball angled across Cook and straightened, but at no point did Cook appear interested in using his bat, and Aleem Dar's finger was up almost before Harris had even turned around to ask the question.
England's 2 for 8 should have become 3 for 8 when Ian Bell edged his first ball to slip off Harris but was reprieved by Shane Watson, who spilled a chance he should comfortably have taken. It barely mattered, for Australia were creating so many opportunities that it was only a matter of time.
The nightwatchman James Anderson was worked over by Mitchell Johnson. Bouncers lobbed off the bat into gaps, another one jammed his right hand onto the handle of the bat, just what England didn't need when they were potentially already one bowler down, depending on Boyd Rankin's fitness in the second innings. When Anderson edged a regulation catch to second slip off Johnson he must have been glad to get out of there.
Three for 14 became 4 for 17 when Kevin Pietersen was drawn forward by the impeccable length of Harris. On 3, Pietersen drove hard and edged Harris to slip, where Watson held on this time. His drop of Bell wasn't costly in any way either, for on 2 from 32 balls Bell edged behind off a lovely delivery from Peter Siddle that moved away just enough. England were 5 for 23 and their all-time lowest Test total of 45 looked in some danger.
That's not to mention the other close calls. Bell had already survived an lbw review when Harris thought he had his man, only to see the replay show the ball sliding down leg. Later, Stokes edged behind off Siddle but Haddin was unsure if he had taken the ball cleanly low to the ground and asked the umpires for confirmation. The third official, Tony Hill, decided the ball had bounced just short of Haddin, although the footage was far from conclusive.
Stokes and Ballance started to play some nice shots as their partnership progressed, cover drives and cuts, and their stand had reached 38 at lunch with the total on 5 for 61. But the bouncer that rattled Ballance's helmet was a reminder of what might come after the break.
England in disarray after top order collapses
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England in disarray after top order collapses
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England in disarray after top order collapses
