Why England must move on quickly from Ashes hangover

They have muscle memory from their last Ashes rebuild four years ago, against the same opponents, beginning on the same ground. Then, they played some exhilarating cricket, the best of the Bazball era. Just as the management remains the same, so too do most of the players. Nine of England's 12 for this week were in the Ashes squad. Archer and Brydon Carse would also have been at Lord's had they been available. The lack of upheaval supports the theory England had their best players in Australia, they just got the approach all wrong. Under-prepared, under-drilled, and weak under pressure. The wider frustration is that the most egregious defeats under Stokes and McCullum have come through mistakes that were self-inflicted. Against New Zealand in Wellington in 2023, then against Australia at Edgbaston and Lord's later the same year. Against India in Rajkot and Sri Lanka at The Oval, both in 2024. Then again against India at The Oval last summer, and against Australia in Perth, from which their Ashes campaign never recovered. One reason for the regular bouts of self-destruction could be an environment that has been light on attention to detail, and steps have been taken to smarten up the act. The backroom staff has been beefed up, with Sarah Taylor enlisted to sort the fielding and Troy Cooley adding support to the fast bowlers. Michael Yardy and Will Gidman were at the Loughborough training camp last week and have helped with the build-up to the Test. …