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Before the 2013/14 Ashes series started, much of the build-up surrounded the scoreline by which England would win the series.
Sir Ian Botham was in typically boisterous mood, predicting a 5-0 whitewash for the visitors against an Australian side who, without attracting attention, deserved more respect than they had been afforded.
The warning signs were there during the summer. England's 3-0 victory managed to sufficiently paper over the cracks of some flaky performances – and the foolhardy had not even noticed there were cracks in the first place.
Perhaps the most common theme of England's summer Ashes campaign was that of the bowlers rescuing their side after some flatulent displays from the batsmen placed the team in precarious positions on more than one occasion.
Too many times England were reduced to 30-3 as captain Alastair Cook's weakness outside off stump was badly exposed and Joe Root's inexperience gravely exploited.
Australian seamer Ryan Harris was made to look world-class by some imprudent strokeplay, while Peter Siddle dismissed Kevin Pietersen more times than English fans care to remember.
On the face of it, Botham's prediction was mischievous and unduly confident but few could have foreseen a dismantling of such gigantic proportions that would see his 5-0 prophecy inverted in Australia's favour.
England started the series well and probably shaded the first day, reducing Australia to 132-6. Where the tide began to turn however, was when England were skittled for 136 to concede a first-innings deficit of 159 runs.
The two Australian innings had finished and started on the same day, such was the level of England's collapse.
It was a collapse masterminded by the resurgent Mitchell Johnson, who terrorised England's batsmen with vicious pace, bounce and accuracy.
The latter quality had always been Johnson's nemesis. Too often he had the tendency to drift wide – at times embarrassingly so – and he was consequently taunted by the Barmy Army.
However, in this series he made them watch with great pain as he continued a rejuvenation which had begun in April in India. Playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, he delivered a string of highly impressive bowling performances.
He had finally been able to rid himself of the inconsistency which had plagued his game and was showing great control of line and length in partnership with his more renowned pace and bounce.
Johnson was suddenly the cricketer England feared he would one day become, but when the two sides met in Brisbane for the opening Test the visitors were hopelessly underprepared – and they never recovered.
The left-armer succeeded in mangling numerous English innings throughout the series, stripping batsmen such as Jonathan Trott – who later flew home due to mental health problems – and Matt Prior of their confidence and rampaging through the tailend with a cruel ease.
Johnson took 37 wickets during the series – two more than Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad combined – complete with three five-wicket hauls and having snared 15 more wickets than Ryan Harris, who with 22 also had a superb series.
While it's easy to focus on the brutality of Johnson's form, England's dire batting should also be spotlighted.
The previous Ashes tour was an incredible one for England as they routinely pulverised the Australian attack. They even broke records, memorably when they scored 517-1 in the second innings of the first Test in 2010.
Cook (235*) and Trott (135*) were the men chiefly responsible, while Andrew Strauss weighed in with a century himself.
How that form changed in just three years. In the 2010/11 series, England were scoring centuries almost at will. In the 2013/14 series, they mustered just one – Ben Stokes' 120 at Perth.
Stokes, competing in his debut Test series, was by far the brightest light of England's gloomy tour. He scored 279 runs at an average of 34.87, which was just 15 runs less than the reckless Kevin Pietersen despite playing four of the five Tests.
Australia were better than England in every department, but especially so at the crease.
The top six series runscorers were all Australian, while David Warner's tally of 523 runs was only four runs short of the combined tally of his counterparts Alastair Cook and Michael Carberry.
Australia also notched ten centuries against England's one, which is the most telling statistic of all.
Much credit should go to Australia coach Darren Lehmann, who has transformed the fortunes of a side who had lost seven of their last nine Tests before Brisbane.
He has crafted a new generation of cut-throat cricket, instilled a winning mentality into his side and constructed a batting line-up capable of scoring fifties right down to numbers nine and ten.
That depth of batting was perfectly illustrated by Brad Haddin and Johnson. Haddin, in particular, was a constant hindrance. He scored 493 runs at an average of 61.62 and counter-attacked at crucial times.
Just when England were looking to bowl Australia out for around 200, up popped Haddin with a typically aggressive half-century to further demoralise the English attack.
Lehmann will also be pleased that from Haddin down to Nathan Lyon at 11, Australia's tailenders plundered 874 runs between them.
When matched against England's top three runscorers Kevin Pietersen (294); Michael Carberry (281) and Ben Stokes (279), Australia's tailenders outscored them by 20 runs – a truly harrowing statistic for England coach Andy Flower to ponder.
Flower will be pondering plenty after this series, for as worrying as England's reliance on their bowlers is their lack of emerging talent.
So far only Root and Stokes have made plausible claims to a regular starting spot, but the likes of Carberry and Jonny Bairstow have not flattered themselves in a dismal situation wherein a run of confident displays could have cemented their Test berth.
The fact that Graeme Swann, England's second-most prolific Test spinner after Derek Underwood, retired after three Tests of this tour also turns attention towards England's spin talents.
Scott Borthwick did himself no harm by taking 3-33 in the Sydney Test, but Monty Panesar has had a damaging tour having taken just three wickets in the four innings he has bowled.
Flower and Cook have a massive rebuilding process to go through and must analyse the gory details of the series, extracting any positives they can. England's golden era is over, but after this Ashes obliteration Australia's is only just beginning.