After four years of domination, England meekly surrendered their grip on The Ashes earlier today. In truth, the damage had largely been done before the third Test in Perth courtesy of hefty defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide.
With a 5-0 series whitewash now a real possibility, pundits, former players and some sections of the media have formed a not so orderly queue to aim criticism in the direction of captain Alastair Cook and his squad.
There are, without question, problems within the current England team. They've failed to post a 400+ score since the second Test in Wellington back in March, while they will hope that the ineffectiveness of key bowlers James Anderson and Graeme Swann is not the start of a trend.
Through all the doom and gloom, though, there are perhaps the odd reasons for optimism. Here, Sports Mole has picked out four players who have had positive impacts Down Under.
1. Ben Stokes
On a personal level, the last 10 months have been a real rollercoaster for Stokes. In February of this year, he was sent home from an England Lions squad tour of Australia alongside Matt Coles. The pair had been accused of ignoring instructions regarding "match preparation and recovery". The 22-year-old has taken positive steps since that point, scoring over 700 runs and taking 44 wickets as Durham were crowned Division One champions. Such form was enough to earn him a place on the plane for the ongoing Ashes series, although he was not expected to feature.
Come the second Test, England needed a number six. A stress-related illness had forced Jonathan Trott to return home, with Joe Root moving up to number three. Stokes was given the nod at the Adelaide Oval and he went on to score a gutsy 29 in a second innings that also saw him stand up to the bounce and verbal goading being hurled his way by an in-form Mitchell Johnson. His first Test wicket was also a coveted one in Aussie skipper Michael Clarke.
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He disappointingly gave his wicket away during the first innings in Perth, but the youngster showed that he can learn from his mistakes by becoming the first tourist to score a century this series. He went on to post 120 from 195 deliveries before he was eventually dismissed by spinner Nathan Lyon.
Since injury forced Andrew Flintoff's Test retirement in 2009, England have craved an all-rounder. The likes of Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan have been mooted as potential heirs, but neither has done enough on a consistent basis with the bat. Left-hander Stokes's exploits in Perth will ultimately draw comparisons with Flintoff and only time will tell if he can fill the void. A few more contributions of the same ilk as the latest one will do his cause no harm.
2. Michael Carberry
At the age of 33, Carberry could have been forgiven for thinking that his Test career would be restricted to just the one outing against Bangladesh in 2010. He captured the attention of the selectors with Hampshire, though, and then went on to further press his claims for inclusion during the warm-up encounters.
Opening alongside experienced skipper Cook for the first Test in Brisbane could well have resulted in nerves, but Carberry looked composed from the outset. If anything, he was more fluent than the painfully out-of-form Cook.
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Aside from the duck during the second innings in Brisbane, the left-hander has often played himself in, albeit without going on to post a majorly high score. His highest contribution to date was the 60 that he scored in Adelaide. On that occasion he was one of just three England batsmen who managed to reach double figures.
Going forward, it would be extremely harsh if Carberry lost his place at the top of the order. There are, after all, a handful of others who should consider their positions to be under much greater scrutiny.
3. Joe Root
At this present moment in time, the young Yorkshireman probably goes from Test to Test not knowing where he will be placed within the England batting order. He was introduced as a number six in India this time last year, before being promoted to the role as opener for the summer's Ashes. The reappearance of Carberry on the Test scene saw Root return to six, before he moved up to number three in the absence of Trott.
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The 22-year-old deserves credit, largely for the determination that he has displayed. The grit in Adelaide was a particular highlight as he scored 87. Discussing his performance in this feature last week, this reporter wrote: "[Root] left the short ball alone and only played deliveries that were going to cannon into his stumps. The hook, pull and slog sweep shots were nowhere to be seen." In short, it was a showing of maturity that exceeded his age.
Touted as a future England captain, Root has done little to disparage that school of thought.
4. Ian Bell
First and foremost, cricket is a team sport. Having said that, England would not have retained the urn during the summer without Bell. The Warwickshire batsman produced cover drive after cover drive to become the leading scorer of the series with 562 runs at an average of 62.44.
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The centuries may have so far eluded him this time around, but his knock of 72 in the second Test was the peak - if you can call it that - of a disastrous first innings. That was followed by an easy-on-the-eye 60 in Perth, which resulted in further calls for him to move up to three from five, instead of Root.
"He should definitely be number three. The moment Trott was sent home I said he should be number three because he is a natural number three. Bell is a touch player who uses the pace on the ball. He won't get bogged down," former England captain Nasser Hussain recently told Sky Sports News. "Bell has got to come in before the crisis and put the emphasis on the opposition captain and bowlers to do something different."
Whether it be at three or five, Bell is arguably England's most vital batsman right now.
