Perhaps it was the ghosts of Lumley Castle who finally shocked the Australians from the depths of their slumber.

Or perhaps it was the less ethereal but considerably faster moving Brett Lee [Images]. Or Andrew Symonds [Images], a man who has paid a high price recently for his own interest in late-night spirits.

Whatever or whoever it was, the effect was dramatic.

One moment the world champions could not even beat Bangladesh, cricket's basement boys.

Also Read Images from the match

The next, back from the dead, they had England [Images] at six for three in the sixth over of Thursday's triangular series one-dayer and were looking as sharp and ruthless as ever on their way to a crushing 57-run win.

Andrew Strauss [Images], worth 152 runs in his last outing, dragged a Lee inswinger into his stumps after making three. Marcus Trescothick [Images] nibbled at a Glenn McGrath leg cutter and was caught behind for a duck.

Paul Collingwood [Images], another centurion on Tuesday, survived his first ball but not the second.

The Australians' early tour form, which included four defeats in a row last week, has been hard to believe.

GHOST STORIES

As incredible, indeed, as the ghost stories emanating from the castle overlooking the Chester-le-Street venue.

Wednesday's Sun newspaper quoted Belinda Dennett, Australia's media officer, as saying: "I saw ghosts. I swear I'm telling the truth."

She said she saw white figures trooping around Lumley Castle one night, while all rounder Shane Watson was so unnerved that he refused to sleep alone and joined Lee in his room.

England's Darren Gough was clearly so amused by the story that, walking back to his bowling mark past Watson during the Australia innings on Thursday, he playfully raised both arms in his best ghoulish impersonation.

Perhaps he was suggesting that a day-nighter was no occasion for a man afraid of the dark.

By the end, however, the laughter bore a heavy Australian accent. England had been trounced. More importantly, Ricky Ponting's [Images] team were playing like men possessed again.

Lee, arguably the fastest bowler in the world, gave the attack its missing teeth.

All rounder Symonds, suspended for the first two games of the tournament and fined his match fees after staying out all night before his team's opening fixture, gave the batting greater clout.

He top-scored with 73 out of the touring side's 266 for five. Thanks to Lee and McGrath, the game was as good as over before anyone had thought of turning on the floodlights.

Even Kevin Pietersen [Images], England's matchwinner in the teams' first encounter, could not carry out the impossible a second time in a row, his wicket falling to man-of-the-match Symonds.

The Australian all rounder, accepting his award, showed that he had retained his sense of humour through his recent tribulations.

He had even feared being sent home for his late-night antics, he said. Thursday, though, felt good. "It's very good to be back," he said. But what would he do with bottle of champagne? "I think I might give it to charity."

Not everybody in Chester-le-Street was surprised by the strange goings-on at Lumley Castle this week.

According to local folklore, the hotel is home to the ghost of Lily Lumley, a 14th-century aristocrat thrown down a well by Catholic priests for rejecting their faith.

In 2000, three West Indies [Images] players, totally spooked by the place and its dark corners and period trimmings, booked out and went in search of alternative accommodation.

It is not fashionable to believe in ghosts nowadays. After Thursday, it will have become less fashionable still to believe that Ponting's 2005 team are shadows of their former selves.