England should stick to their Bazball plan - cast judgment after the Ashes

Travis Head’s latest masterpiece is four days old, the postmortems are complete and England supporters have done their pained vox pops in Australia.

- Taha Hashim

And somehow we’re still more than a week out from the second Ashes Test. It’s a hefty gap bound to be filled by rage, moving from the defeat in Perth to the preparation for a pink-ball affair in Brisbane.

England’s first-stringers could pass the time with a day-night knockabout against a prime minister’s XI in Canberra. Instead, as planned, it will be a Lions side that plays this weekend, joined by Josh Tongue, Matt Potts and Jacob Bethell, unused squad members in Perth. It is understandable why this has annoyed many, why Michael Vaughan’s soundbite - that it would be “amateurish” not to play the fixture - carries some substance.

The day-night Test is a regular part of Australia’s calendar, their record standing at 13 wins from 14. England haven't played one in nearly three years and have won just two of their seven. Mitchell Starc, chief destroyer at Perth, has more pink-ball Test wickets than anyone else, at an average of 17. Taking in some match practice would be of obvious value, even if it is against a long-retired Peter Siddle, six years since the end of his Australia career, in conditions that are unlikely to mirror the Gabba. For fans there would probably be more comfort from a scorecard: hard, undeniable proof that the boys are hard at work.