Ashes 2015: Can '10 man' Australia stop England winning back Ashes with Michael Clarke's struggles?

Clarke, who has never won a Test series in England in three previous attempts, must overturn a 2-1 deficit in the remaining two Tests if he is to taste success here for the first time and he is going through a desperate struggle with the bat while trying to lead his team away from home.

The 34-year-old conceded, after Australia's eight-wicket defeat at Edgbaston, that his output of just 94 runs in six innings at number four so far is a significant part of the problem and his captaincy is also coming under scrutiny after the tourists were shot out for 136 in the first innings, after he chose to bat first.

Australia, who lost comfortably inside three days at the ever-rowdy ground in Birmingham, will be looking to make changes after such a comprehensive and chastening defeat, but what can they do when their captain is the biggest question mark?

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"I think it's always going to be hard to beat any opposition when they've got 11 and we've only 10. It is time for the captain to get off the plane and turn up. At the moment that's how it feels.

"With my performances so far, I certainly haven't led from the front as I'd like to do as captain. I've always made that very clear - that's a big part of my role as leader of this team, that I'm scoring plenty of runs and leading by example. You need to make sure you're scoring a lot more runs than I have been so far."

"I am 100 per cent confident. My self-belief is still there, and that's because I've continued to work as hard as I have throughout my career. For me to have success, it's always been about my preparation and working hard. That gives me my best chance. While I keep doing the preparation I'm doing, I believe I can have success out in the middle."

He is a big part of it. The Australia skipper has looked woefully out of touch so far this summer and devoid of confidence in leading a middle order which has been found wanting. But Clarke was far from the only Australian to fall short.

Clarke was not the only one who had no effective answer to the bowling of James Anderson in the first innings and then man-of-the-match Steven Finn second time round - the two seamers claiming 15 of Australia's 20 wickets. In helpful conditions, England's bowlers left the tourists floundering and Australia's middle order was particularly fragile.

Absolutely no way. Regardless of his poor form, Australia would not dream of moving their skipper on at this stage midway through an Ashes series. Clarke has the experience and pedigree to lead his side through the remainder of the series, after which Steve Smith could well take over.

Adam Voges could well be the man to make way for the fourth Test with Clarke spared as a result. It would be the easy decision to take and Shaun Marsh is likely going to be the batsman to come in. Equally, Shane Watson could potentially return at the expense of Mitchell Marsh in the middle order.

Absolutely. England are nothing if not incredibly inconsistent at the moment and every resounding victory seems to be followed with an equally resounding defeat.

Anderson will miss the fourth Test at Trent Bridge because of a side strain and it's an absence Clarke likens to that of Australia pace spearhead Glenn McGrath for two matches famously in their series defeat 10 years ago after slipping on a loose cricket ball in the outfield.

"I think he will be a big loss, like Glenn McGrath was to us in 2005," Clarke said. "I think whoever England bring in, though, will do well. It's their home conditions - they are used to doing well here.

"As long as we play our best, I am confident we can beat whatever 11 players we play against."

Anderson had to leave the field mid-over on day two in Birmingham, wincing in pain with an injury England later described as a "tight side" and the England players were clear about how badly his loss will now be felt.

"He's a huge player for us, the leader of our attack," Finn said of his country's all-time leading wicket-taker. He sets the tone with everything he does. Even when the ball was flying around, he controlled the run-rate."

The talismanic paceman hurt himself on his 33rd birthday and his absence represents a crushing blow for England. Mark Wood has been fighting off an ankle injury but could be the man to return and replace Anderson having played in the first two Tests.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain explained just how hard it will be for England to replace Anderson in his Sky Sports column but believes Wood is the man to return and shoulder the responsibility of filling in.

"Alastair Cook has said Anderson’s injury gives a chance to someone else and he is right, but it is a huge loss because Anderson is irreplaceable," said Hussain. "There is not another Anderson in England – there hasn’t been for a decade – and he is the leader of the attack who other bowlers follow.

"I would bring Wood in. In the intensity of an Ashes series you want someone who has already been there – Wood knows the Aussie batsmen, the Aussie plans and I like his attitude. Whoever England pick, though, I hope they don’t get defensive now they are 2-1 up and prepare flat pitches, as Lord’s showed that’s the wrong way to go."