The stare said it all. Mitchell Johnson had just revived memories of Lillee and Thomson with one of the great spells of fast bowling in Ashes cricket, and he didn't need to say a word to Jimmy Anderson as he trailed from the field.
Johnson just glared at Anderson as his middle stump lay flat on the Adelaide Oval pitch.
"Jimmy likes to give it, I like to give it, but I thought at the time it wasn't needed," Johnson said afterwards.
"When the ball is reversing like that, I think it would have been tough for a top-order batsman. I just didn't need to say anything."
Johnson continues to leave a trail of destruction, adapting from the quick, bouncy pitch in Brisbane to the flat one in Adelaide.
He tore through England with 5-12 in the half-hour after lunch on day three to give resurgent Australia every chance of seizing a two-nil lead in Adelaide.
England, looking jaded by comparison, lost its last six wickets for 55 runs.
With his latest haul of 7-40 Johnson showed he could bowl at the stumps as well as at helmets - four of his dismissals were bowled - and proved wrong all those who said he was finished when he bowed out of the Test team with an injured foot and a muddled mind in November 2011.
He also further rattled a touring team that has no answer for his brutal pace.
He kissed his baggy green cap as he left the field after England was bowled out for less than 200 for the third time in the series, giving Australia a first innings lead of 398.
That lead stretched to 530 by stumps, as David Warner (83 not out) closed in on a second consecutive century.
"Coming back from my injury plenty of people were telling me that I was never going to play again so it feels very emotional for me," said Johnson, who also leapt into 10th position on the list of Australian wicket-takers with 221 scalps.
He has 16 wickets for the series at less than nine runs each, but it's the relentless speed and menace with which he's collected them that has revived memories of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson terrorising England in 1974-5.
With Alastair Cook comprehensively beaten by Johnson the previous evening, England turned up needing to dig in and save the Test.
Instead, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon opened the door by coaxing daft shots from Kevin Pietersen and Joe Root, and Johnson barged through it.
A triple wicket maiden ripped the heart out of England's innings.
He thundered a ball into the pads of debutant Ben Stokes, who had to go when the Australians called for a review that ruled out an inside edge.
Matt Prior, so out of sorts he has played just one scoring shot in the series, took cover from a couple of nasty short balls, then edged behind.
With the crowd screaming for Johnson, their favourite villain Stuart Broad insisted something on the sight screen be fixed before facing up to Johnson.
The Australian said afterwards the lengthy delay allowed him to catch his breath and calm down for a fresh assault.
Broad lasted one ball, his leg stump pegged back before he knew it.
"That Broady wicket, it helped me a little bit that he took a bit more time. You can get over-pumped and it was a good time for me to relax and think about what I was doing," Johnson said.
"You start thinking about going for the jugular when you should really just keep bowling those really good areas. I definitely felt I was in one of those zones."
He hadn't finished.
Four overs later Graeme Swann chased a full, wide one and was caught brilliantly in the slips by Michael Clarke.
Channel Nine doubtless turned down the stump mics when Anderson came in to face the music.
The ball, instead of rearing up at Anderson's arm-guard, was full and fast and knocked out middle stump.
For all the verbal warfare between these two teams, and Anderson's part in it, Johnson just fixed his eyes on the England paceman as he walked past him towards the dressing room, and said nothing.
Perhaps fortunately, Monty Panesar didn't have to face the hat trick ball, but the No.11 stood up to a barrage of short-pitched bowling.
He was greeted by three bumpers in a row from Ryan Harris, and wore one from Siddle on the back of the helmet before turning his shoulder on another.
In fact, he lasted longer than all but Michael Carberry, Root and Ian Bell, who made the best of a bad situation with 72 not out.
Clarke surprised no one by choosing not to enforce the follow on, preferring to send his quicks for an ice bath and a restorative night's sleep.
Anderson showed some spirit by removing Chris Rogers and Shane Watson cheaply, Watson surrendering his wicket to a wide ball slapped to point for a duck.
But Warner and Steve Smith (23 not out) guided the home side to 3-132 at stumps.
With Johnson in this ferocious mood, and a spicier pitch beckoning in Perth, there is likely to be little respite for England.
