England have suffered Ashes humiliation at the hands of Australia after losing the series with two Tests remaining. The Three Lions arrived Down Under full of aspiration and, although they went into the series as second favourites, there were plenty who believed Ben Stokes’ side had enough about them to pull off a famous win. Those optimists were sadly disappointed.

England made a strong start in the first Test in Perth last month thanks to a bowling masterclass from Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse as they dismissed the hosts for 132 after racking up 172 runs themselves. The tourists were in control at lunchtime on day two, but had somehow lost the Test by eight wickets just hours later. And England were then thrashed at the Gabba in early December as they lost by eight wickets once again. By the third Test, England’s fate appeared to be sealed and, although they produced a better display, Australia were able to secure an 82-run victory to retain the Ashes.

England will face plenty of difficult questions as the inquest into their embarrassing defeat begins. And they will have to take any criticism they receive on the chin.

They could have put themselves in a much stronger position to perform as a team if they had undertaken a more rigorous warm-up programme ahead of the Ashes.

Stokes’ side played just one official warm-up match – a three-day red ball game against the England Lions in Perth. The surface was much slower than the one they played on at Perth Stadium in the opening Test, with former England star Michael Atherton claiming England were not “match ready for an Ashes tour”.

By the time England did get the Ashes series underway, they opted to continue playing the game on their terms.

Their Bazball cricket has yielded results during Brendon McCullum’s three-and-a-half year spell as England coach, but it is fraught with risk.

When it goes well, runs follow. It’s exciting to watch and gives players the freedom to express themselves at the crease. But Australia’s bowlers found it too easy to pick off England’s batters, and the amount of runs Stokes and his team-mates were able to score when it did work, weren’t enough to counter the flaws in that style of cricket.

If McCullum isn’t willing to compromise, there will be those who believe England would be served by a different coach.

And McCullum won’t be the only person feeling the pressure. England managing director Rob Key, ECB chief executive Richard Gould and EBC chair Richard Thompson will all face scrutiny and will need to come up with solutions in the weeks ahead.

Stokes, himself, will be more disappointed than anyone, but relieving him of his duties as captain would be a step backwards. England need to make some tough decisions – but they need to get them right.