England report card after Ashes horror: Ben Stokes fails as captain; Joe Root can’t mask Harry Brook, Ollie Pope’s crash

Australia dominated the Ashes series, winning 4-1. England struggled with poor batting and selection decisions.

Australia didn’t just win the Ashes, they controlled the series. The hosts wrapped up the series 4-1, finishing it off in Sydney with a five-wicket chase of 160.

Ben Stokes walks past the trophy on the podium after the match. (REUTERS)

England’s “Bazball” was thrashed throughout the tour. Too many soft dismissals, too little resolution, and a selection story that read like: arrive late, pick the in-form guys later, act surprised it didn’t work earlier.

England’s report card

Joe Root: 5.5/10

Series: 5 Tests, 400 runs at an average of 44.40, HS - 160

Joe Root was England’s only consistent proper batter, but this was nowhere close to his best. Two hundreds, yes - but neither of them were in the winning cause. His runs didn’t flip the momentum of the games often enough. Also add to that seven scores of under 20 in 10 innings and two ducks, and it’s a “best of a bad bunch”.

Harry Brook: 4/10

Series: 5 Tests, 358 runs at an average of 39.77, HS - 84

Those numbers look fine until you remember the hype. No century, too many brain-fade dismissals, and costly drops when the series still had oxygen. If you are the dynamic vice-captain, you don’t get graded like a passenger.

Jacob Bethell - 7.5/10

Series: 2 Tests 205 runs at an average of 51.25, HS - 154

England's biggest positive of the tour. He only played after the series was decided. Jacob Bethell looked composed in Melbourne, where the other batters were struggling and then produced a classy 154 in Sydney. The surprise is England took three Tests to act like they wanted a batter with technique and temperament.

Ben Stokes - 3/10

Series: 5 Tests, 184 runs at an average of 18.40, HS - 83; 15 wickets at an average of 25.13

Ben Stokes looked grim with the bat, there were only two innings of note, and lots of nothing. As captain he looked confused, muddle bowling changes, mixed messaging, and a mid-series wobble in identity. He did at least bring out the goods with the ball and took wickets, But England needed a leader who could steady them, not narrate their collapse.

Ben Duckett - 2/10

Series: 5 Tests, 202 runs at an average of 20.20, HS - 42

When your best is 42 across a five-Test match series, you have basically been a traveller. Yes, Ben Duckett’s strike rate was lively, but fast 20s don’t pay rent when batting is struggling against a quality attack.

Zak Crawley - 3.5/10

Series: 5 Tests, 273 runs at an average of 27.30, HS - 85

Zak Crawley played a couple of decent knocks, but three first-over dismissals in a series is basically charity work for the opposition. The “flashes + fails” brand stayed on-bran, and that is the biggest problem.

Ollie Pope - 2/10

Series: 3 Tests, 125 runs at an average of 20.83, HS - 46

Ollie Pope at number three turned out to be a trap door for England. Scratchy innings, ugly dismissals, and then he got replaced - correctly, by Bethell, who immediately looked like he belonged.

Jamie Smith - 2.5/10

Series: 5 Tests, 211 runs at an average of 23.44, HS - 60

Jamie Smith has shown a lot of promise with the bat before this series, but in this series he did not deliver enough of it. The overall presence also didn’t lift a struggling side.

Will Jacks - 3.5/10

Series: 4 Tests, 145 runs at an average of 20.71; 6 wickets at an average of 53.66

England basically selected Will Jacks as an all-rounder and then looked shocked when delivered like a part-time spinner. A gritty 47 was useful, but the role clarity was a mess, and that’s on the management as much as the player.

Jofra Archer - 6/10

Series: 3 Tests, 9 Wickets at an average of 27.11

He was projected as the biggest threat in the England bowling ahead of the series. Jofra Archer bowled some spells of real menace but then injury hit him.

Gus Atkinson - 3/10

Series: 3 Tests, 6 wickets at an average of 47.33

A frontline quick’s returns like that in Australia is not good enough. Gus Atkinson didn’t disgrace himself but barely moved the story. Then fitness concerns hit him too, England’s pace plan kept getting thinner and thinner throughout the series.

Brydon Carse - 6.5/10

Series: 5 Tests, 22 wickets at an average of 30.31

Brydon Carse started ugly, but finished as the workhorse. One can criticise the lack of damage with the new ball and discipline early, but he kept coming, kept competing, and ended up England’s leading wicket-taker - in a team that often looked like it wanted the series to end as soon as possible.

Josh Tongue - 7/10

Series: 3 Tests, 18 Wickets at an average of 20.11

Josh Tongue was another “why wasn’t he picked earlier?” story for England. Took wickets in clusters when he got a chance and gave the team actual bite. If England were serious about winning Tests in Australia, this is the kind of bowler you build plans around.

Matthew Pots - 1.5/10

Series: 1 Test, 0 Wickets

Matthew Potts played a failed cameo in the series. If you are picked because the bowling attack is broken, you at least need to look like a solution. England couldn't even trust him to bowl in the second innings at Sydney.

Mark Wood - 2/10

Series: 1 Test, 0 wickets

Mark Wood looked quick, but that didn’t translate into wickets, and England clearly rolled the dice on his fitness and lost immediately. One Test, no wickets, then gone.

England’s best performers (Tongue, Bethell) showed up after the urn was basically already safe in Australia’s cabinet, which is an indictment of selection and planning. And the ECB has already signalled a review after the 4-1 defeat, which tells you the implosion wasn’t subtle.