haven't allowed a few spells of excellence to hamper their progress to abject defeat.
Superb bowling and a spirited top order fightback puts you in contention in the second test? Don't worry, a spineless batting collapse will soon undo any good work. A record 200+ fifth wicket partnership puts you in a commanding position? Fear not, losing six wickets for 30-odd runs and bowling toothlessly will sort that.
How can a side that has managed 400 from the first innings not be favourites (or at very least not nailed on to draw).
Apologies for the probable stupidity or naivety of the question.
Nothing stupid about it. It would normally be a commanding position. However. in part because they've scored so quickly and in part because they collapsed so quickly, they haven't actually taken that much time out of the game in scoring 400. That means that, if Australia score equally fast (as they are), they could take a lead by the end of day three that would put England under severe pressure with two days left in the game. And, given England's propensity for collapse, that puts them under threat.
I was always a staunch conscientious objector to the nonsense of how we used to dominate but lose games, arguing about the futility of possession stats when failing to ultimately capitalise and make it count.
It was often used after valiant European defeat when the opposing team knew they had probably done enough in the first leg and didn’t need to force the issue.