The cold, hard fact facing an outfit in disarray

FOR all the challenges of short-pitched bowling, sledging, crowds, heat and flat wickets, there is one thing that makes a touring party to Australia sink like a stone.

The shuddering reality that it is simply not good enough and all the planning, hype and hope don’t matter.

That its worst days are a nightmare and its best days barely break square, and that good luck will never be enough to save it. That defeat is inevitable. This has been the stinging reality for England in this Ashes. Strangely enough, it’s been reinforced by the fact that at various stages in all three Tests it had good days and had seen an open door in front of it.

But just as it was about to burst through, Australia crashtackled it from behind.

It feels like being a foe of the great boxer Floyd Mayweather, who sits back and watches for the first few rounds, takes a few punches, then explodes into action.

You wonder where on earth England can go from here; not simply in the next two Tests, but beyond. Should it use the red Kookaburra ball in its domestic cricket, just as Australia trials the English Dukes ball in the Sheffield Shield?

Sometimes you have to swallow your poison. English bowlers loathe using the Kookaburra ball so much, they should use it more.

The very mention of its name, small seam and lack of movement, makes them cringe.

In bygone decades England used to get its hardy fast bowlers from the mines (think Harold Larwood), but those days have gone now.

Its best feeder system comes from private schools, and it seems to struggle to unearth the nasty fasties it needs to tackle Australia in Australia.

The fact that Moeen Ali is England’s best spinner says a lot about a production line that has creaked to a halt.

The academy at Loughborough has been branded Bluffborough by one English scribe in recent days.

Australia’s cricket selectors have had their best summer for many years.

We’ve dished it out to them when they have got it wrong over the past few seasons, but it’s been a near flawless performance, with a more cohesive unit firing since the departure of former chairman Rod Marsh. Cameron Bancroft has not shaken the house down but has the feel of an oldfashioned Test opener.

Tim Paine was chosen on a gut feel and has been a particularly good choice.

Mitchell and Shaun Marsh were polarising selections but have paid their way with centuries. The challenge for both will be to keep firing; Mitchell was exceptional on Saturday but will face greater challenges when the ball is swinging and seaming.