This was supposed to be the crowing glory of the Bazball project, a series England had been building towards for 18 months and which McCullum said could “define” his team.
Ultimately, they were defined as another England outfit trounced in Australia. This was the fourth successive Ashes tour where England have lost at least four Tests.
This century alone, England’s record in this country is 27 defeats from 35 matches. Three of their five Test wins in that period came in the glorious triumph of 2010-11 – the only series England have won here in the past 40 years.
Players England backed for this tour have wilted. Ollie Pope played three Tests before being dropped, the previously successful opening partnership of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett collapsed, and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith was a shadow of his best.
Spinner Shoaib Bashir, earmarked for this tour more than a year ago, did not play a Test.
As ever on Ashes tours, England were struck by injuries. Mark Wood may not play for England again after going home with a knee problem and Jofra Archer’s impressive tour was ended by a side strain sustained in the third Test. Gus Atkinson was ruled out of Sydney with a hamstring problem.
Pace bowler Josh Tongue emerged with his reputation enhanced, while Jacob Bethell’s coming-of-age century in the final Test was a belated silver lining. If only England had backed Bethell months ago.
Joe Root provided England’s best moment of the tour by finally scoring a Test hundred in Australia, but this was another Ashes tour where Root and Stokes – two England greats – were on the wrong end of a hammering. Root may get another opportunity in four years, Stokes almost certainly will not.
Stokes has backed McCullum, who has also been publicly supported by Key. While this management are not alone in presiding over failed England Ashes tours, much of the scrutiny comes from issues and problems that could have been avoided.
England chose a squad that left them few options when things went wrong and prepared their players in conditions far removed from what they encountered in the Tests.
As well as being ill-equipped for the challenges they faced on the field, the visitors seemed surprised by the hostile attention they received from the Australian media, particularly at the beginning of the tour.
In Perth, England players were followed to golf courses and even an aquarium. In Brisbane they were pictured riding escooters without helmets, an offence punishable by a fine under Queensland law. As they prepared to fly from Brisbane airport, a member of the England security staff was involved in altercation with a TV cameraman.
The Brisbane flight came at the end of England’s infamous holiday in Noosa, where the amount of time some players spent drinking was investigated by Key. Images of England players on the beach and in bars will be just as abiding as anything that happened on the field.
