The combined effects of another crushing defeat and the damage that the exclusion of Brad Haddin at Edgbaston has done to team spirit threaten to open cracks in the Australian cricket camp so wide that Michael Clarke could soon tumble down them.
Clarke is not only fighting at Trent Bridge this week to stop Australia losing the Ashes but is also battling to save a captaincy career that surely could not survive a fourth successive defeat in England in the biggest series of them all.
Clarke's lack of form has reached crisis point.
When Alastair Cook was going through the toughest of times last year his position was solidified by the support of all his teammates, coaching staff and the selectors and he has come through to blossom as a batsman and captain.
It is far from clear whether Clarke has the same levels of support, particularly among a selection panel he is known to be at odds with but also from senior figures who would prefer Steve Smith as captain.
