Australia bowled Essex out for 414 on Friday's third day of their final Ashes tune-up, but not before copping further treatment.
Mitchell Starc snared a six-wicket haul in Chelmsford, where Australia claimed a first-innings lead of 148 runs.
The left-armer grabbed 4-5 as he sliced through the tail, the highlight being an unplayable yorker that uprooted Matt Salisbury's middle stump.
Starc exhibited greater control compared to Thursday, when he started with a loose wide and struggled to make an impact until going around the wicket late.
The visitors' lowlight on Friday came when one of Nathan Lyon's deliveries was smashed over his head, past the grandstand and into the River Can.
The offspinner was routinely attacked on a docile pitch and England will draw confidence from how successful the tactic was.
Lyon finished with the unflattering figures of 0-136 from 22 overs.
The hosts resumed at 3-299 on Friday, with stand-in skipper Ravi Bopara on 86.
Allrounder Mitch Marsh quickly added a couple of wickets to his case for a Test recall, dismissing Bopara for 107 and former New Zealand Test batsman Jesse Ryder for a duck.
Marsh, who scored 169 in the first innings and is in a tight battle with Shane Watson for the allrounder's berth up for grabs in next week's first Test, struck in his fifth and sixth overs.
Both men were out edging, but the double breakthrough failed to curtail the run rate.
Ryan ten Doeschate, with 33 ODIs for the Netherlands and representing Twenty20 franchises around the world, showed trademark aggression.
Ten Doeschate struck seven boundaries in his quick-fire 36, including the ball dispatched into the River Can.
Starc removed the Dutchman with a short delivery that he tentatively edged to keeper Peter Nevill.
Josh Hazlewood was tidy, sending down six maidens in his 21 overs, but largely unthreatening.
It was Hazlewood's maiden first-class game in English conditions and Peter Siddle cautioned it would take some time to adjust.
"It's about learning and all the blokes here know what to do now," Siddle said after day two.
"It was good to ... get the boys used to it and have a chance to see what it's like to bowl in these conditions.
"We're a lot better drilled than we have been in the past ... this series, we'll be on."
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