For 15 years, Australians watched with thinly disguised glee as English cricket made mediocrity an art form.

The English game was in a mess and Australian players and fans feasted on the disarray.

Now the boot is on the other foot and we Australians are suffering, scratching our heads as we search for solutions to our Test decline, smiling meekly at the latest gentle but telling quip from our Pommy friends.