England cricket’s Ashes review is likely to maintain the status quo but Brendon McCullum is in extra time

The most difficult task for the English regime is to repair the damage done to the relationship with its supporters.

This was the worst overseas Ashes performance in years, and the anger at what happened on and off the field was enormous. Many fans will be surprised that no one at the top paid for their job.

Winning cures most ills, and there is a calculated gamble by Gould, Key and co that England have a good chance of success over the coming months.

Test series against New Zealand and Pakistan could be won this summer, as is the winter win in South Africa and Bangladesh, before the 150th anniversary Test against Australia in Melbourne. There will not be another white-ball tournament until the fall of next year.

However, all victories for the foreseeable future will come with the star of past failures against the best. Even if England get the urn back on home soil in the summer of 2027, this system may already have its legacy defined by what happened in Australia.

The relationship between coach McCullum and skipper Stokes is key to the immediate future of the Test team.

Suggestions they may not be on the same page come from the difference in their messaging in Australia. While still publicly supportive of each other, McCullum pointed out that England were not sticking to their style, while Stokes was fighting like Geoffrey Boycott and said teams had figured out how to play against them.

There was an idea that Stokes was the stronger figure of the pair, but his production on the field – certainly with the bat – has diminished and his body refuses to complete the Test series without sustaining an injury.

McCullum and white-ball skipper Harry Brook looked more in sync during the T20 World Cup. It had echoes of Michael Vaughan galvanizing the white-ball side in 2003, prompting Nasser Hussain to hand over the Test reins to Vaughan.

While there is no doubt – yet – that Stokes should step down as Test captain, we are certainly headed for extra time in the Bazball, regardless of the Ashes debacle.

When he took charge of the Test team in 2022, the New Zealander signed a four-year contract. His term would have ended by now had he not signed an extension in 2024.

McCollum now faces a rebuilding process that has strong similarities to the situation he inherited four years ago.

At that time, England suffered a crushing defeat in Australia and was cut off from its supporters. Their early summer opponents were New Zealand, as is the case this year. The first test this year will be held at Trent Bridge – the location of the second test four years ago. Nottingham was the birthplace of Buzzball, Jonny Bairstow and all that.

On that occasion, England celebrated their stunning victory over the Black Caps with beers on the dressing room balcony. Hours later, as night turned to day, the players were photographed wandering into a restaurant, with Ollie Pope staring at his kebab as if he had never seen anything so beautiful.