Waca fear factor is a myth – this is England’s best chance to win a Test

in Perth, losing their past seven Tests here by nine wickets, 329 runs, seven wickets, an innings and 48 runs, 206 runs, 267 runs and 150 runs, but even they have glimpsed the new realities here.

In 2013-14, the Waca was the scene of England’s only century, and their highest team scores in both an innings and a match – the 604 runs they made across both innings at Perth were 120 more than their next best, at Adelaide.

Of course, they were still thrashed – but this reflected the chasm between the sides far more than the pitch. And while Mitchell Johnson destroyed England’s batting line-up in their otherwise imperious 2010-11 tour, this owed more to swing than raw pace.

In the past 10 seasons, the Waca is the quickest-scoring ground in Australia, according to Cricviz. “The outfield’s a lot faster compared to other Australian first-class grounds,” reflects the Western Australia player D’arcy Short. “It feels like you can block the ball and it just races away. You get a lot more value for your shots at the Waca.”

The past two Sheffield Shield matches here have continued the trend: South Australia chased down 325 for five to win a game in which Western Australia had declared their first innings on 514 for seven; and then Western Australia drew with Queensland in a game in which both sides made more than 400, at nearly four runs an over, in the first innings.

Why, then, have England continued to be crushed at the Waca? The best answer seems to be stereotype threat: England flounder at Perth because they are expected to do so, and they flounder against pace bowling here because they are expected to do so.

“It’s a mental thing,” believes Kevin Pietersen, the former England batsman who is now a commentator for BT Sport. “They think it’s the fastest wicket in the world – it’s not any more. I played on it in the last few seasons of the Big Bash and it’s an absolute road. But their general theme for the Waca is that it’s a real quick wicket, you’ll get a lot of dangerous short balls, it’s difficult to get in. And so there’s a mental problem.”

Perhaps, for old time’s sake, the Waca really will produce a 1970s encore for its final Ashes Test. More likely, the real demons will be in England’s heads, not on the pitch itself. If England are to avoid saying adieu to the Waca with an eighth straight defeat there, they must play the pitch, not the myth.