Matt Maher: England's test issues are clear - but the solutions are less so

Not easily or quickly, is the simple answer. After another Ashes humiliation in Australia, that is again the question facing the ECB. Anyone with even a passing interest in the sport knows something has to change but determining precisely what needs to happen and how is less obvious.

Such was the scale of this winter’s embarrassment it would be foolish to take anything off the table.

Sure, losing heavily in Australia is hardly a new experience for England. Of the last 15 Tests they have played Down Under, they have lost 13, a pathetic record which hints at the long-term malaise and deeper, structural issues in the domestic red-ball game which have undoubtedly led us to this point.

When Joe Root, in the wake of last weekend’s fifth Test defeat in Hobart, claimed any success enjoyed by the England Test team was ‘in spite of, rather than because of’ the County Championship, it was tough to argue.

But while Root might hit the nail on the head when outlining the many problems which currently plague the domestic red-ball game, those larger, systematic headaches can’t excuse the shambolic nature of his team’s performances on this tour.

Every England cricket fan, before a ball had been bowled, knew the tourists were going to be up against it. A sizeable portion were predicting an outcome even worse than the eventual 4-0 scoreline.

Yet there was something about the careless approach of England’s players to the series which made it feel worse than the defeat in 2017 or the 5-0 whitewash four years previously. It is one thing to be beaten by the better team. It is quite another to consistently fail to even do the basics right, to keep overstepping (costing three wickets over the series), to keep dropping catches (17 wickets) or to keep playing reckless shots and throwing your wicket away (too many to recall).

In the closing stages of England’s final batting collapse in Hobart there was the sense of a team having thrown in the towel. That puts deserved scrutiny on the coach and the captain, the men responsible for setting the tone. At least some of that spotlight should also fall on Ashley Giles, England cricket’s managing director, who appeared to absolving himself of any blame by placing responsibility for team selection at the door of Root and Chris Silverwood, while claiming any scheduling issues were down to those above him. What Giles actually does do should be one of the first questions asked in the wide-ranging review the ECB must surely now undertake.

Under any normal circumstances Root’s position would also be close to untenable and there is some irony in the fact the issues in the domestic game he highlighted after Hobart will help keep him in post.

Much as his captaincy might have been poor, there is no obvious successor. Of England’s existing crop, only Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and – provided he sorts his fitness issues out – Ollie Robinson, would appear long-term options in the team. Worse, there is hardly an array of Test-ready talent in the domestic game. Those players who failed so miserably in Australia are pretty much the best players England have got.

While Root might be considered a little fortunate should he survive, much of what he said about the County game made sense. Not since he made his debut in 2012 has it produced a batsman who could be considered an unqualified success at Test level.

That should come as no surprise when you realise just how much the red ball game has been pushed into the margins of the season. Last year the first seven four-day fixtures – half of the entire Championship campaign – were completed by the end of May. Between the first week of June and the final week of August counties played just eight days of red ball cricket.

The release yesterday of this year’s fixtures revealed a little improvement, with five rounds of Championship scheduled for June and July. But that still leaves nine taking place in April, May and September and none in August, when The Hundred takes centre stage.

Is it any wonder, when considering the time of year that matches are played, teams have become packed with medium pace bowlers who take advantage of the conditions, or batsmen who believe attack is the best course of defence because quite often, in spring or autumn, there is a ball with your name on it?

There are simple changes which could be made quickly, such as Root’s suggestion for using the Kookaburra ball in some matches.

But the larger restructuring to the calendar or the format of the championship can only come from those at the top of the ECB. For once, they need to prove they actually care about red ball cricket, rather than just claiming to.