After Joe Root claimed every England player had improved under the current management, Daily Mail Sport looks at the 14 who have taken part in their latest series defeat down under – plus one who hasn’t – and asks who has made progress in Australia, who has stood still, and who has gone backwards.
Made progress
England deserve credit for the careful management of Archer after four injury-hit years, and his first-innings five-for on a flat pitch at Adelaide was one of the performances of the series. He has also worked on his batting, bettering his career-best in successive games. A side strain ended his series early, but three Tests in Australia was always likely to be Archer’s ceiling.
Jacob Bethell
It’s a black mark against the selectors that Bethell wasn’t parachuted into the No 3 role after averaging 52 from that position on tricky pitches in New Zealand last winter. Now, he should be there to stay, having shown off his temperament and sense of adventure during the testing chase at the MCG.
Zak Crawley
A pair in Perth boded poorly, but in three Tests since then Crawley has averaged 42, and is now England’s leading run-scorer for the second Ashes in succession. That vindicates the selectors’ long-term faith, which has at times tested fans’ patience.
Will Jacks
It’s unlikely he’ll ever be a Test-quality spinner, but twice in the series – in the second innings at Brisbane and Adelaide – he showed the fight demanded by Stokes.
Josh Tongue
His match analyses at Adelaide (five for 134) and Melbourne (seven for 89) raised questions about his absence from the pink-ball Test at Brisbane. Eight Tests have now brought him 43 wickets at 26, and praise from Steve Smith. Definitely on the up.
Jofra Archer (Left) put in one of the performances of the Ashes in the Adelaide Test
Zak Crawley has shown this series why long-term faith has been put in him as an opener
Stood still
Gus Atkinson
After a stellar first year as a Test cricketer, Atkinson has had to work harder for his wickets, although series figures of six at 47 do not reflect the fact that he has rarely been loose with the new ball. He will be better for his experience of the Ashes cauldron, despite tweaking his hamstring.
Harry Brook
By his own admission, Brook played some ‘shocking’ shots in the first two Tests, but he backed himself to go on the attack in the first innings at Melbourne. Without his 34-ball 41, England wouldn’t have come close to Australia’s 152. But he’s too talented to be averaging 33 here.
Brydon Carse
He has veered between horrible new-ball spells that suggest he has been over-promoted and wicket-taking bursts that appear to back up Stokes’s faith. It has all added up to 19 wickets at 25, but his economy-rate of 4.68 reflects his lack of control.
Joe Root
At the Gabba, he ticked off a cathartic first century in Australia. At the MCG, he ticked off a first win in 18 Tests here. But his seven other innings have produced just 96 runs, and he went missing in the crucial opener at Perth.
Ben Stokes
His bowling all year has been as good as ever, but a couple of dogged knocks at Brisbane and Adelaide can’t disguise the fact that his batting is in danger of losing its verve. In terms of the captaincy, it’s hard to see who else can possibly do the job.
Joe Root may have got his first century in Australia but has struggled in most of his innings
Gone backwards
Shoaib Bashir
When it mattered most, England decided they couldn’t trust Bashir.
A two-year project yielded to the pragmatism of preferring the batting depth offered by Jacks, but at what cost to Bashir’s confidence?
Ben Duckett
His impish 34 to get the Melbourne chase going could not mask a horror tour in which he has failed to justify claims he is the world’s best all-format opener. His average of 16 is his lowest in a Test series since he struggled in India back in 2016-17.
Ollie Pope
Fluffed his big chance to prove he really could do the business in a big series, and looked completely shot in Adelaide.
Fifty Test innings against Australia and India have brought him four scores above 50 and an average of 24.
When it mattered most England showed that they couldn’t trust spinner Shoaib Bashir
Ollie Pope has struggled down under, fluffing his chance to prove he can do it in a big series
Jamie Smith
The measured violence that brought him a century before lunch against India at Edgbaston over the summer has made way for flat-footed drives and a big gap between bat and pad. He’s better than this.
Mark Wood
Arrived with high hopes after his role in the 2023 Ashes comeback, but managed only 11 wicketless overs in Perth before his body caved in again. It’s hard to see how he plays another Test.