"It's all mad. What is going on here?"

It wasn't a question. Or a query. It was but a yelp of extreme exasperation, some anguish even, on a terribly hot afternoon from Travis Head. It probably got overshadowed by the slightly more comical, "Snicko needs to be sacked" that was also overheard through the stump mics from Mitchell Starc a couple of overs earlier.

Both comments of course directed at the slightly farcical scenes that played out after the two times Jamie Smith was adjudged to have gloved/nicked a ball behind the stumps by umpire Nitin Menon on the field.

In that moment though, "what's going on here?" is a feeling, an emotion and an exclamation that would have been fair to express for every English fan getting stewed in the unforgiving heat the Adelaide Oval. Or those staying up late at night in the chilly winter climes of the UK back home. Maybe even some in the English dressing room at the Adelaide Oval, though you wouldn't be too sure of that.

Triggered of course by simply how this English batting line-up had blown away the opportunity to put themselves in a position of strength on one of the hottest days of Test cricket ever in Adelaide, and on a pitch that wasn't just flat but also slow enough. About how they'd suffered yet another batting collapse in conditions that should instead had looked tailormade for them to finally dominate in. To show why they were considered the best English team in 15 years to come here to challenge the Aussies in their own backyard. Only for them to end up where each one of their predecessors have in that period, staring at the possibility of another Test defeat along with the inevitability of another miserably failed Ashes campaign.

Starting with the Smith dismissal.

There will be a debate to be had about the role of technology around his wicket at some point. But the vexation would have been more about the shot, or his decision to attempt it. Pat Cummins had after all telegraphed his delivery in the most obvious of fashions. He'd set a field for himself with three men back on the leg-side boundary for the pull or hook shot and also placed Mitchell Starc some 20 yards in from the mid-wicket boundary. The previous over to Smith had seen three short balls, the first that the wicket-keeper had smacked for six, the second the contentious decision around whether Smith had gloved the ball to Usman Khawaja at slip, and the third a more controlled pull shot.

All to say that a very obvious trap had been set for Smith, and he still decided to swing at the short of length delivery from Cummins, which was well wide of his off-stump wildly towards the on-side. Without worrying about getting into a decent position or the very low probability of him making decent contact. The only reason for Smith's manner of getting out escaping ultimate censure would be because at least it wasn't as bad as what Ollie Pope had dished out a bit earlier in the day.

That too in Nathan Lyon's first over back in the Test team after he was left out in Brisbane. A weak flick from outside off-stump towards Josh Inglis at mid-wicket to complete a meek dismissal after yet another desperate attempt to show he still deserves his place in this Test team.

But to make the story of the second day's play at the Adelaide Oval all about England would be totally unfair to what was one of the most professional displays of bowling from a Test team you'll ever see. Especially in the most challenging conditions in a long time on Australian soil for Test cricket.

It started with Cummins as he ran in and bowled like he had never been away from the very first ball he delivered in this Ashes series. Not long before he produced a special delivery off a mostly benign pitch, like he does so often, to get rid of Zak Crawley. And he did the same to have Joe Root nicked off after the lunch break.

Cummins' double blow bookended the dreamy start to Lyon's spell, as he added Ben Duckett's wicket with a special delivery that drifted, gripped and straightened to officially make the off-spinner the second most successful Australian bowler in Test history.

All while Scott Boland wheeled away at his end suffocating the English batters and their egos before getting two late wickets. For once Mitchell Starc wasn't amongst the wickets despite bowling at an average speed of over 146 kph on a day where the temperatures soared past 40 degrees. Only for Cameron Green to produce a stunning delivery to get rid of Harry Brook in the middle of a potent spell, where he could have got himself another wicket.

If anything, Day 2 in Adelaide was all about Australia and their world-class bowling attack putting on an exhibition of relentless Test bowling against a batting line-up that simply wasn't up for it as a whole.

Even if Stokes did hold his ground as he tends to do in these situations, the fourth slowest Test innings at this stage of this Bazball era. But unlike the Aussie bowling attack who seemed to operate like a four-piece band in complete sync, with Green producing a guitar solo in between, Stokes felt like a sessions musician who's been asked to play lead in a band that's playing the kind of music that he either doesn't get or isn't comfortable playing. Resulting in the the kind of off-key and off-beat music that this English team has produced with bats in hand.

Eventually it was the two English players who had a bit of a falling out at the start of the day, Stokes and Jofra Archer, who ended coming together to show some fight. And to keep the England innings together, barely.

At least for one more night. For the music is beginning to fade. As are England's hopes of Ashes glory.