Ricky Ponting's spectacular achievement to become Australia's most prolific century-maker in history did nothing to calm his fury.
Despite scoring a 33rd hundred yesterday to pass his former captain Steve Waugh's 32, Ponting's anger at his dismissal reflected the serious state of his team as England continues to press for a decisive advantage during the second Test in Adelaide.
Ponting's wonderfully constructed 142 was once again the frame that supported Australia's first innings but the home side still requires another 40 to avoid the follow on.
It is debatable whether England would enforce it, just as Ponting did not in Brisbane.
No one wants to bat last on an Adelaide pitch which traditionally plays at more varying heights as the match progresses.
Australia's 5-312 at stumps on the third evening yesterday is a long way from England's 6(dec)-551. The home side may lead the series 1-0 but there is much work to do to save the match and maintain that advantage.
It is certainly a long way from where Ponting wanted to be when Australia resumed yesterday morning at 1-28.
"We thought that, if we could get our noses in front and push on, then who knows what might happen on the last day," Ponting said.
The second new ball is only 15 overs old and still swinging for Matthew Hoggard, who has been outstanding in the benign conditions to claim 4-76. He took all four wickets to fall yesterday.
"I don't think the noose is quite tight at the moment," Hoggard said last night when asked if a drawn result would represent a lost opportunity for England.
"The wicket is still quite placid.
"I don't think it's going to be a massive disappointment if we don't win here.
"But to beat Australia here at home we have to put in another good bowling performance (today).
"It's like a typical subcontinental pitch. It's not too bouncy, it's not too quick and there's not a lot of slow turn for the spinners.
"It's been vital for us to put in a good performance in this game to show the Australians that we are here to fight and to compete with them."
Ponting has scored a remarkable eight centuries in his past nine Tests and 10 in 13 during this Bradmanesque purple patch. Only India's Sachin Tendulkar (35) and Sunil Gavaskar (34) and West Indian Brian Lara (34) now have more. Thirty two this month and with years of his career yet to be played, Ponting has now moved into sixth place on the table of all-time run scorers with 9190 at 59.29 and will surely overhaul Lara at the top of the table once the brilliant West Indian finally retires. Lara currently has 11,953 runs at 52.88.
But Ponting, the world's most highly ranked batsman, has no truck with records and yesterday that was boldy reinforced.
On nicking an outswinger delivered by Hoggard during the first over with the second new ball, Ponting could not have made his feelings any clearer.
After umpire Rudi Koertzen executed Ponting with a trademark slow, deliberate raising of the right finger, he kicked the adjoining pitch, raising a small cloud of dust which he will be hoping does not represent his team's hopes in this match.
"Huss and I had been speaking about it all day. We knew the second new ball was going to be a really important time, not only in today's play, but in the course of this game," Ponting said. "We had a really good partnership going there for a few hours, then I got out to it in the first over and Huss got out not long after that.
"We were clawing our way back into the game so to get out when I did was disappointing.
"Michael Clarke (30 not out) has looked terrific so far and Gilly (Adam Gilchrist, 13 not out) has started off really well so the first hour in the morning is going to be crucial for us."
So consumed by his disappointment was Ponting that instead of acknowledging another appreciative crowd of more than 30,000 at this beautiful ground, he marched off, head down, bat gripped mid blade. He pushed over the chair of a security officer as he entered the dressing room, even as the applause still rang in his ears.
Ponting batted beautifully, save for a rare lapse on 35, when he lifted a pull shot off Hoggard to deep backward square leg and Ashley Giles made a mess of the chance.
Had the spinner clutched the ball above his head, Australia would have tumbled to 4-78 but instead Ponting and Mike Hussey (91) had a 192-run fourth wicket partnership in almost four-and-a-half hours.
Tragically for Hussey, he was bowled for 91, chopping on a delivery as he made a late decision to leave it, only to have the ball hit the toe of the bat and cannon into his stumps. It followed the polished 86 he scored in Brisbane but a century has alluded him so far this summer.
There was an awkward moment when he lost sight of what turned out to be a knee-high full toss outside the off stump from Steve Harmison and almost ducked into it before finishing inelegantly sitting on the pitch.
The almost always in control Ponting believes he could have batted better.
"I wanted to be patient and bat for a long period of time," he said after his dismissal. "I actually scratched around a little bit around the time I got dropped. I found it difficult to get the ball away but, during the second session, I played a lot better.
"They were bowling a good line and length. They were doing a good job."
Ponting said the pitch probably was the flattest he had seen in Adelaide.
"I can't remember playing on one that did as little as this one on the first day," he said.
"The bounce is getting a little bit lower and it's a little bit slow but there's certainly not much there (for the bowlers)."
Australia was in trouble yesterday morning.
Justin Langer was out the previous evening and Matthew Hayden perished without adding to his score, driving away from his body to be caught behind for 12. Worse followed when Damien Martyn was caught in the gully driving for 11.
Should Clarke continue to prosper today, it will put extra pressure on Martyn, aged 35, who scored a modest 29 in Brisbane but did make a match-winning 101 in Johannesburg three Tests ago.
If the selectors want to make a change for the third Test, bringing in all-rounder Shane Watson should he recover from his hamstring strain, and his replacement, Clarke, aged 25, makes a big score, he will be very difficult to leave out.
- MALCOLM CONN