- Likes of Joe Root and Ben Duckett have headed home
A handful of England’s stars have flown home after yet another disastrous Ashes series, this time on Australian soil.
While the likes of cricket legend Stuart Broad and divisive broadcaster Piers Morgan predicted the tourists would hoist the urn given the supposed poor quality of the opposition, the reality was far different.
Australia seized the big moments to comfortably win the series 4-1, and made a mockery of ‘Bazball’ at the same time.
They also only played captain Pat Cummins in one Test – and still dominated.
On Friday, the likes of Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Josh Tongue, Will Jacks and Matthew Potts were all spotted at Sydney International Airport.
While Root’s future is assured, Duckett appears to be on borrowed time at Test level after failing to convert any of his six scores of 20-plus into anything above 42.
A handful of England’s stars have flown home after yet another disastrous Ashes series (pictured, batsman Joe Root)
Ben Duckett is unlikely to look back at his Ashes tour of Australia with much fondness
It was also a tough tour for the likes of Will Jacks (pictured) and Matthew Potts
Despite England’s confidence ahead of the first Test, Australia seized the big moments to comfortably win the series 4-1
Josh Tongue impressed at times for England, and finished with 18 wickets to his name across the series
Coach Brendon McCullum should also be in the firing line.
He has denied his players drink too much, despite the revelation that England white-ball captain Harry Brook was involved in a fracas outside a nightclub in New Zealand in October in the lead up to the Ashes because the bouncer thought he was drunk.
But if long-suffering England cricket fans think McCullum will walk away, they are mistaken.
‘Whatever you do in life, I think you have to have some authenticity,’ the under-fire coach said recently.
‘For me, as coach, when you’re trying to guide and shepherd and assist players, you need to have an influence over how the environment runs, and be in charge of a lot of the decisions that are made when the pressure’s on.
‘So as long as that remains, I’m open to progress, I’m open to evolution.’
Initially, McCullum was a breath of fresh air for England, presiding over 10 wins in his first 11 Tests.
But results have tapered off, and four series against Australia and India – the yardstick by which England’s Test progress is best measured – have produced a pair of 2–2 draws at home and two 4–1 defeats away.
McCullum still insists there ‘has been some progress.’
‘You never want to throw out what’s worked. You just want to keep chiselling away at some areas which need improvement,’ he said.
‘So I’d be loath to want to rip the script up and try and rediscover a completely different method.’
England will now turn their focus to the T20 World Cup, which starts on February 7.
The tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
