England became the latest side to be flattened by an Australian juggernaut which is threatening to make a mockery of the world Test championship after they cruised to another predictable triumph in the second Test.

The tourists followed up their 384-run opening Test defeat in Brisbane with an even bigger loss at the Adelaide Oval, where they slipped to an innings and 51-run hammering inside four days which left England and the rest of the world further away than ever from finding a way of beating the current Australian side.

Captain Nasser Hussain blamed himself for the Gabba defeat, claiming he misread the pitch and left his side chasing the game having allowed Australia to pile up an imposing total after being allowed to bat in the best conditions.

But over the last four days in Adelaide, England could do little but accept they were facing one of the great sides of modern sport after they lost by an even bigger margin despite gaining the advantage of winning the toss and batting first on a good wicket.

From 295 for three shortly before the close of the first day, England were quite simply brushed aside by Australia's trio of world class bowlers in Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne before their batsman scored quickly and aggressively to leave only the execution of victory remaining when the fourth day commenced.

With three Tests remaining, few would bet against Steve Waugh's side claiming a whitewash - a fate which has already happened to South Africa, West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand on Australia's soil during the last three years - despite pre-tour expectations that England at last had a side capable of at least competing for the Ashes.

Just like every other tour here since 1986-87, though, England have been found wanting at crucial stages and Australia are more ruthless than any other in world cricket at exposing their opponents' vulnerability - no wonder Hussain described them as "completely cut-throat".

Rival captain Waugh stressed: "In five or 10 years' time, we'll look back and say it was a great era for Australian cricket and I am lucky enough to be a captain of an excellent side.

"It wasn't always that way and when I first took over, it was difficult, but we've moulded ourselves into a formidable unit, we enjoy each other's company and we enjoy each other's success.

"When teams play against us, they know they're up against 11 players and not 10 or nine or eight, and it's a very strong unit - it's great to be part of this era and there's no doubt we'l look back on this time and say it was great to play for Australia." From the very start today, it was only a question of when, not if, Australia would claim victory with England resuming on 36 for three needing a further 174 runs just to avoid an innings defeat.

They made an early breakthrough by tempting the nervous Robert Key into pulling straight to mid-wicket and although they encountered little pockets of resistance, notably from Michael Vaughan, Alex Stewart and Richard Dawson, the only doubt was the margin of their triumph.

Stewart and Vaughan forged a 74-run partnership which looked capable of taking England beyond the lunch interval and with storms forecast for later in the day and the final day, an unlikely draw was impossible to rule out completely.

Just as they have done in previous Tests, though, Australia claimed the key wicket at a crucial time with Vaughan slog-sweeping Warne only for McGrath to pull off a diving catch in the deep which his captain described as "a miracle".

Just like the first innings, that key dismissal prompted a collapse with England's last six wickets falling for only 45 runs despite determined resistance from Stewart, who made amends for his first Test pair to hit a determined 57 spanning over two hours at the crease.

He finally fell to longstanding rival Warne, padding up without offering a shot, but Dawson demonstrated impressive resolve and temperament to hit 19 and forge a 20-run last wicket stand with Andrew Caddick, who was batting at No 11 because of a back strain, before edging McGrath behind to seal Australia's victory shortly before tea.

"It gives you so much confidence to walk out onto the field with the guys beside you looking at the slip cordon knowing that most times they will take catches and then you've got our batsmen playing well - it's a pretty awesome team," added McGrath.