What had seemed obvious before the start of the series, but was obscured from view in Cardiff, became evident at Lord’s again on Friday.

For the first time in two decades England can lay claim to a more potent bowling attack than Australia, a factor that, if the batsmen perform, should bring them a significant advantage in the Ashes.

The disparity between Australia’s bowling on the first day, which was blunt and wayward, and England’s yesterday, which was for the most part sharp and controlled, should be enough to bring the home team an early lead in the series some time over the next three days, Australia ending another difficult day 156 for eight, still 70 adrift from saving the follow-on.

A 75-year hoodoo is about to be broken unless Ricky Ponting can inspire something miraculous from his team. It has been a terrible two days for him: he spent the first day watching his attack bowl in the manner that would have made a Sydney third-grade side blush and then the second from the balcony rather than the middle, after a howler from Rudi Koertzen, who gave the Australia captain out caught at slip when replays suggested his bat had clipped his boot and not made contact with the ball.

Times Archive, 1934: England beat Australia at Lord's

England won by an innings and 38 runs on the third day of the match, with Verity taking a total of 15 wickets

• Topic: The 1981 Ashes

• Topic: The Bodyline Series

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It was a better day to be an England bowler, for sure. With dark clouds hanging over Lord’s, drizzle in the afternoon air, bringing two stoppages totalling 79 minutes, and a pitch that had quickened up overnight, it was a day when ball dominated bat for the first time in the series. The stoppages enabled England’s bowlers to stay fresher for longer and forced the batsmen to start over more often than they would have liked.

James Anderson enjoyed the conditions, taking four wickets, the first time he has had an impact (with the ball, at any rate) in an Ashes Test. Andrew Flintoff, rightly given the new ball this time, bowled more quickly than anyone, picking up the key wicket of Mike Hussey, and there was a wicket for Graham Onions and two for Stuart Broad. Australia were rattled by pace, movement and the momentum of the match, which turned quickly.

Australia are a resilient bunch and as well as England had bowled and as difficult as the conditions were, Simon Katich and Hussey had taken Australia to 103 for two, a position of relative safety by mid-afternoon. It took an excellent piece of fielding, rather than bowling, to give England renewed momentum, Broad, running around the Tavern side and diving at full stretch to take a top-edged hook from Katich. It was reminiscent of a catch by Darren Gough in the same corner of the ground, nine years ago, that was the catalyst for a famous victory against West Indies.

Hussey followed eight runs later, leaving a straight ball from Flintoff only to hear the death rattle, and then Michael Clarke chipped Anderson low to Alastair Cook, expertly placed at short mid-wicket by Andrew Strauss, and Australia were 111 for five. Marcus North dragged Anderson on to his stumps, chasing his Cardiff hundred with a duck here, Mitchell Johnson pulled Broad to deep square leg and Brad Haddin miscued to mid-wicket, Cook accepting two more offerings. It was an English-style collapse, 49 for six in 15 overs.

Strauss was now lording it on a day that had begun badly for him and his team. Three English wickets fell in the first three overs, including that of the captain, who inexplicably left the second ball of the morning, a straight one, and failed to add to his overnight score. Four times he has slept on a not-out hundred in Tests and four times he has fallen cheaply the next morning. Time to bin the early-to-bed ploy and hit the town, next time he overnights on three figures.

It needed a final flourish from Anderson and Onions, and more help-yourself buffet bowling from Johnson, to take England past 400. Ponting had ignored Johnson at the start of the day and probably wished he had continued to do so when Anderson took him for three fours in an over, and five fours in all. The two put on 47 runs before Johnson had Anderson fencing to gully. The wicket enabled Johnson to head to the anonymity of the dressing room, where he could reflect on a Lord’s debut that verged on embarrassing. He took three wickets, but at the extortionate cost of 132 runs in 21 overs.

Anderson and Flintoff now gave the Australians a lesson in how to bowl with the new ball, a combination of accuracy and menace that must have had Ponting looking on with envy. Australia had 12 overs to survive before lunch, during which time they lost two wickets and looked like losing more.

Phillip Hughes unfurled one crisp, back-foot stroke through point but was shackled by Anderson’s length, which was short to him, and his line, which was unerringly straight. It was looking to pull one such ball that Hughes gloved down the leg side to Matt Prior, which may be thought of as an unlucky dismissal but which was, in this instance, the result of good bowling and impatient batting.

Anderson had clearly given some thought to how he should approach Ponting after Cardiff, because he bowled wider to the Australia captain than before. Accordingly, Ponting was unable to feel bat on ball early on, which he likes to do, and so became fidgety and tense. England’s fielders played their part, charging in en masse to prevent him from taking a quick single to escape Anderson’s threat, and it was shortly afterwards that Anderson got his man.

Koertzen’s decision brought a glare from Ponting but after his strictures at Cardiff he had little choice but to turn smartly on his heels. Soon afterwards, he was seen introducing his team, gamely with a smile, to the Queen. One trusts she did not ask of his day.