Finally, I no longer have to wake up in the early hours of the morning to find that my hopes and dreams of a victory down under have been destroyed. Australia have won the most anticipated Ashes series in living memory 4-1. 

Understandably, English fans are grieving over the events of the last seven weeks. However, rather than face the stages of denial, anger and bargaining, everyone has jumped straight to disappointment. England’s best opportunity has been squandered, leaving the English lion heading homeward with its tail between its legs.

This has happened so often that I would not be surprised if the lack of circulation, from being squeezed between its hind legs, has caused the tail to drop off.  

Australia are a very good cricketing side, and their performances show that. However, if you were to tell England fans in November that Australia would be without Hazelwood, Cummins, and Lyon for the majority of the series, most would tell you that England are certain favourites to win. Yet we managed to lose. 

The managerial decision to only play one warm-up game before the series, left a lot of question marks around the lack of preparation. However, scrutiny surrounding preparation does not end due to the absence of practice, but has been amplified from claims that the England side has an unhealthy drinking culture. 

It has recently come out that Brook, the white ball captain, was involved in an altercation with a bouncer the night before playing the third ODI against New Zealand. This news has now been compounded with complaints about England’s time in Noosa, where it is said that players were sitting in bars all day, drinking.

Or is everyone just wanting to punish their livers as much as their batting and bowling averages? 

McCullum and Stokes have done amazing things for English Test cricket. In the early years of their partnership, there was a unique coalescence of nonchalance and arrogance. They played the way they liked, forcing other teams to adapt instead. As exciting as this first was, in pushing other teams to change, England has forgotten about developing itself. 

Starc has been fantastic this Ashes, receiving player of the series after averaging under twenty with the ball and scoring just under 200 runs. But teams have discovered that England players are susceptible to getting themselves out. With social scientists talking about the dramatic decrease in younger generations’ attention spans, I would advise them to observe Smith, Jacks and Brooks dismissals in order to build a concrete source of evidence.

The last time England won in Australia, former coach Andy Flower made them experience an army-style training camp in the weeks leading up to the Ashes. It worked once; why not go back? The current administration’s idea of cultivating the best performances by letting the players express themselves in a relaxed environment is not working.

This is especially seen when their self-expression manifests in them fighting bouncers the night before playing a game. With the T20 World Cup around the corner, the players and staff are going to have to suspend this hangover of a series to focus on regaining some respectability for English cricket (winning it would probably suffice). 

English supporters are renowned for conjuring up hope for their respective teams before they play. Whereas other English sporting sides have provided little return for such support, England cricket has a very decorated past and remains as one of the best teams in the world. 

There are some generational talents in this team. Root is one of the best batsmen of all time, and Stokes is one of the best all-rounders. With Bethell and Tongue proving their worth with some of the only notable performances in the series, the ECB has to help nurture this group of super-talented players. 

From what is indicated, it looks as if we could see McCullum carry on for the meantime. However, I am sure that there will be a stream of discussions taking place to help navigate and assess the current state of English Cricket. 

McCullum has to adapt his current approach to a balanced environment that promotes expression and professionalism. If we secure comprehensive wins against Pakistan and New Zealand in the summer, then I am sure England fans will let bygones be bygones. All we really want to do is dream about winning the Ashes again. 

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