Return to Perth is chance to complete the circle

Two-nil down with three games to play, they had to win or draw to stay in the series.

Despite enjoying a fine opening day, when five wickets for Monty Panesar and four for Steve Harmison dismissed Australia for 244, England went down by 206 runs.

Adam Gilchrist plundered a second-innings hundred from 57 balls (the second-fastest in Test history following Viv Richards's 56-ball effort against England in Antigua in 1986) and the Ashes returned to Australia after three Tests and 462 days – the briefest custody in history.

In contrast, England went into the third Test that started in Perth this morning with one hand firmly clasped around the urn.

Victory at the WACA would see Andrew Strauss's men retain the Ashes by sending them 2-0 up with two games to play.

As current holders, England would keep the trophy if the series was drawn – negating any Australian comeback in the last two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney.

It would represent England's first series triumph in Australia since Mike Gatting's side won in 1986-87.

Although it would be folly to count one's chickens before they are hatched (surely the Australian corpse is going to twitch at some point?), England are on the cusp of achieving what, for the best part of two decades, would have been unthinkable.

Four years ago, a truly great Australian team were nearing the end of the road after riding roughshod over practically every opponent in their wake.

The side that beat England in Perth included a sizeable smattering of all-time greats: Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Hussey, Clarke, Symonds, Gilchrist, Warne, Lee, Clark, McGrath.

Interestingly, England possessed the same top-order as they do now – minus Jonathan Trott – in Strauss, Cook, Bell, Collingwood and Pietersen, but a different wicketkeeper in Jones and a completely different bowling line-up in Flintoff, Harmison, Hoggard, Mahmood and Panesar.

Indeed, perhaps the most striking aspect of the above combinations is not the power of Australia's, but the strength of England's.

Flintoff, Harmison and Hoggard represent three-quarters of the much-vaunted pace attack that won the 2005 Ashes under Yorkshire's Michael Vaughan, while Mahmood and Panesar are hardly no-hopers; indeed, the latter took eight wickets in Perth and out-bowled Warne.

But just as that wonderful Australian team were rising up for one last time, so England's pace attack was on the way down.

Flintoff managed only 11 wickets in the five Tests and Harmison 10, while Hoggard was England's most successful bowler with 13 wickets in four games at 37.38.

In 2005, Hoggard, Flintoff and Simon Jones dispatched batsmen for fun and all averaged under 30, while Harmison captured 17 wickets at 32.29.

The contrast in those bowling statistics – not to mention Jones's absence through injury – was a major reason Australia exacted revenge for 2005 with a 5-0 pummelling of Flintoff's troops.

The differences this time – in addition to the hosts' decline and the fact England's bowlers in 2006-07 did not hit the heights expected – are that the tourists now possess a truly world-class spinner in Graeme Swann and a batting line-up that has grown with experience.

Indeed, it is revealing to note that, in 2006-07, Cook managed only 276 runs in the five Tests at 27.60 (116 of those arrived in a single knock at Perth) and Strauss just 247 runs at 24.70, with a top score of 50.

This time, Cook has already scored 450 runs in the first two Tests and is one of four England batsmen – Bell, Pietersen and Trott the others – who went into today's game averaging more than 100 in the current series.

Four years ago, Pietersen was the only England batsman to average above 50 – a mark exceeded by five Australians (Hussey, Ponting, Clarke, Symonds and Hayden). In addition, Warne, Gilchrist and Langer averaged over 40.

Each of Australia's frontline bowlers in 2006-07 claimed at least 20 wickets – Clark leading the way with 26 at 17.03 – as opposed to the current paucity of riches in that department, which saw Ryan Harris go into today's meeting as Australia's most successful bowler with two wickets at 42.00.

The above statistics paint some glaring truths.

Whereas Australia had a high-class batting and bowling line-up four years ago, they now have their worst side since the mid-1980s – and no team could possibly cope with the loss of so many great players in such a short time.

Whereas the likes of Cook and Bell were able to make little of Clark, McGrath, Lee and Warne, they have feasted thus far on the likes of Harris, Johnson, Bollinger, Siddle and Doherty.

And whereas Flintoff, Harmison, Hoggard et al found it tough going against great batsmen on Australian pitches, the likes of James Anderson and Steven Finn have prospered not only through fine bowling but the unavoidable fact the opposition have simply not been good enough.

When one compares the England side today with the one that played at the WACA four years ago, there would actually seem little difference on paper in terms of quality. Indeed, Flintoff's men would surely have found the current Australia side as much to their liking as those of Strauss.

Neither England team, however, can quite match the one which triumphed under Vaughan in 2005.

That is the next step for Strauss and head coach Andy Flower as they seek back-to-back series victories against the old enemy and, beyond that, world domination.