Start at ground level to rise from Ashes

STRAUSS: ONLY MAJOR REFORM CAN SMASH TOURIST TRAP

- RORY DOLLARD

SIR ANDREW STRAUSS, the most recent England captain to win an away Ashes series, has warned removing Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes will not be enough to change a "depressingly one-sided story" in Australia.

Strauss led a remarkable 3-1 triumph in 2010-11 but since, then England have lost 16 and drawn just two of the past 18 Tests Down Under.

The heat is now on McCullum as head coach, while captain Stokes may find it hard to stay if their 3-0 predicament becomes a 5-0 whitewash.

The fourth Test starts at the MCG at 11.30pm UK time on Christmas Day. But Strauss (right) has urged those within the game to look beyond the short-term fix of firing and hiring. In the aftermath of England's previous defeat in Australia, a 4-0 loss in 2021-22, he was employed by the ECB to conduct a high-performance review into the domestic game.