Positives? They have been few for England since their doomed quest to regain the Ashes began: Joe Root's maiden century in Australia at the Gabba, Jofra Archer's five-wicket haul at the Adelaide Oval, Ben Stokes's stubborn resistance in the heat in England's first innings here and Zak Crawley's stylish and disciplined 85 on Saturday.

There was something poignant about Crawley's innings and not just because it seems set to represent England's final flourish before Australia formally retain the Ashes. For a while, it was an innings that offered England a sliver of hope. Then that hope was all but extinguished.

Crawley's innings was bitter-sweet because even though it came when England were on the verge of surrendering the Ashes, it suggested that after so much struggle and so much scrutiny, a player whose Test average is a lowly 31.49 is finally coming of age.

Crawley played beautifully on Saturday and his partnerships with Joe Root and Harry Brook both offered some faint encouragement that England might yet be able to pull off a miracle by reaching the fourth innings target of 435 set by Australia, a chase that would be a world record if successful.

Like many others in Brendon McCullum's team, Crawley has been persistently criticised for fecklessness and his irresponsibility, for giving his wicket away too carelessly and too extravagantly in the name of freedom and expression and Bazball.

But on Saturday, when everything was on the line and the pressure was at its highest, Crawley was the one who responded to his captain's pre-match plea to his players to get a bit of 'dog' into their innings.

That began as soon as the second over of England's second innings when they had already lost Ben Duckett. The last ball before lunch was a soap opera all of its own, acted out by Crawley and Australia skipper Pat Cummins.

Crawley, wanting to make sure there was not time for another over to be bowled before the interval, ambled up the wicket to prod the pitch in what was widely interpreted as a time-wasting gesture. The crowd booed.

Cummins, waiting at the end of his run-up, mocked Crawley by bending down to tie his shoelace. Cummins ran in and Crawley backed away from the stumps at the last minute, suggesting a spectator had moved in front of the sight-screen.

This time, the boos were louder. Cummins was properly irritated by now. He delivered a peach of a ball that beat Crawley's outside edge to huge cheers from the crowd. As they walked off for the interval, Cummins could be seen talking to Crawley. It was hard to make out the words but we can be reasonably sure they weren't complimentary.

But Crawley was not intimidated. He played beautifully after lunch, driving selectively, negating the spin of Nathan Lyon with some judicious reverse sweeps and frustrating the Australians with his patience and his shot selection.

But after Harry Brook and Stokes both fell to Lyon, Crawley, who has made more runs in this series for England than anyone except Root, may have started to worry that he was running out of partners. 

He, too, was deceived by Lyon, advancing down the wicket to try to repel a ball that beat his bat and allowed Australia's flawless wicket-keeper Alex Carey to stump him.

Crawley's was the last England wicket to fall on Saturday and, in the circumstances, the most important. 

With him there, holding up one end, playing as well as he did, holding the threat of bold stroke play to come, there was still a sliver of hope. When he spoke to the media afterwards, he all but accepted that hope was gone.

'It's been tough,' Crawley said. 'They're a very good side. They were the favourites coming into it and they have proven why. It is an uphill battle now but the boys will give it a good crack. We have been slightly short of our best but credit to them for making us look like that. We came here to win the Ashes but now we're staring down the barrel.'