A loss to New Zealand in the opening match of the T20 World Cup was a disaster for Australia.
But almost on the same level when it came to painfulness was their go-slow win over Sri Lanka, where now-injured captain Aaron Finch batted through the innings at less than a run per ball, before the bowling attack let their foot off the gas in Brisbane on Monday evening.
And yet, even with those results, as well as a washout against England, Australia were still alive heading into Tuesday's game between New Zealand and England.
That came about thanks to the weather, with England losing a Duckworth-Lewis encounter against Ireland, and New Zealand failing to bowl a ball against Sri Lanka during the week.
Those two results kept Australia in the contest, but the host nation have done nothing but shoot themselves in the foot with every opportunity they have had, and were penalised for it heavily by England's win over New Zealand on Tuesday evening in Brisbane.
England, who have been well short of their best throughout the tournament, managed a score of 179 from their 20 overs which always looked as if it would be above par on a tricky deck.
Captain Jos Buttler led from the front with 73 from 47 balls, while opening partner Alex Hales made 52 from 40. The middle order didn't fire, but they didn't need to, with the bowlers then doing an excellent job.
An economical start gave way to wickets for Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Mark Wood and Ben Stokes, with Curran the pick of the bowlers. Only Glenn Phillips could muster any serious response to the chase, scoring 62 from just 36 balls to keep the Black Caps well and truly in the fight.
They would ultimately fall 20 runs short though, with England, Australia and New Zealand now all sitting on five points with a game to play.
Australia will play Afghanistan, New Zealand take on Ireland, and England face Sri Lanka in the final round of Group A games.
They are games the current top three are all expected to win, and while the threat of rain or an upset still exists, all being equal, the nightmare scenario for Australia - all three teams finishing on seven points - is now appearing ever so likely to happen.
But simply put, it didn't have to be the nightmare scenario for Australia.
From rolling over and meekly surrendering against New Zealand, where they lost by 89 runs in Sydney, to Aaron Finch's 31 from 42 balls in Perth against Sri Lanka, Australia have never possessed the ruthless intent at this tournament as they did 12 months ago when they won the trophy in the United Arab Emirates.
That loss against Sri Lanka still saw a chase of 158 from 16.3 overs as Marcus Stoinis unleashed a flurry of boundaries in a 59 from 18 ball barrage.
But when it comes to ruthless intent and failing to keep the foot on the pedal, there is no greater example than the disaster against Ireland.
A win shouldn't be labelled a disaster, but this one is.
In the context of the tournament, Australia needed to win big. By a huge margin. And at one point, they were well and truly on track to do that.
Ireland were 5 for 25 chasing 179. That would have been the boost Australia needed to wipe out the negative 4 on their net run rate that they picked up in the game against New Zealand.
Instead, the bowlers failed in their duty to keep the intensity up, and Ireland would go on to make 137.
That now leaves Australia with a net run rate of -0.304, still a distant .8 behind England (0.547) and well out of reach of New Zealand (2.233).
Provided all three games in the final round of matches for Group 1 reach their natural conclusion without the interference of rain, Australia are now relying on Sri Lanka to push England all the way, while thumping Afghanistan themselves.
That seems somewhat unlikely given the Afghani spin attack and the fact Rashid Khan will be playing on his favourite Aussie turf in Adelaide, where he has weaved nothing but magic over the years for the Adelaide Strikers.
Putting that aside, it will be on Australia's bowlers to dismantle the batting line up, and the batsman at the top of the order to take hold of the game before Khan and his spinning colleagues can come into the attack.
Let that happen before the game is out of reach, and Australia will be set for an early elimination in their title defence.
That is likely to happen anyway, but miracles can happen.
Australia desperately need one this week.
