When England departed for the Ashes tour of 25-26 they did so with the promise of being star men, waiting to blow our minds. Instead, they've become the men who fell spectacularly to earth
The land down under has been one where England's men (and women) haven't found much to plunder in recent times. It's been 15 years since Andrew Strauss's side convincingly won the series behind the runs of Alastair Cook
From before wheels left the runway at Heathrow however, England had already put themselves under pressure. Despite the frantic frailty of the Crawley-Duckett-Pope triumvrate atop the batting order, the squad didn't include an alternate opener. Something that Mitchell Starc was all too happy to take advantage of, separating the opening partnership within the first six deliveries of the innings on several occasions
If the batting choices were baffling, more bewilderment lay ahead in the bowling department.
Shoiab Bashir was taken as first-choice spinner, but by the Sydney Test was relegated to third behind part-timers Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell. The fast bowling corps included Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson, all three of whom have a storied injury history and were as much use as a corpse by the time the final game came around
If selection was a puzzle, performance was a jigsaw with no picture on the box. Bravado and bouncers, vibes over viable gameplans, each poor choice on (and in some cases, off) the field defended to the hilt by coach and captain
With the series already looking lost, rather than get active in Adelaide the squad got looser in Noosa, choosing a minibar over match practice. The decision not to get some time in the middle under lights with the pink ball other than for those already on the fringes of the team backfired in Brisbane
So where now, as England stew on yet another spanking? Change seems inevitable, in both personnel and approach. England still have players they can build a team around with the right leadership, but a reset is required if they want to be heroes, even just for one year
