Like it or not, McCullum is prepared to die on this hill

With Bazball, England's wins and losses come in extremes. But with all eyes on the Ashes, fast-paced defeats are having real-life consequences, writes Cameron Ponsonby in Perth.

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Don't back down. Double down.

If you hoped that England's two-day defeat to Australia would lead to a change of strategy, mindset or personnel from Brendon McCullum's side, I've got bad news. Under Ben Stokes and McCullum, England are consistent in process, and inconsistent in results. After the initial honeymoon period of Bazball, during which they won 10 of their first 11 matches, the 31 games since have seen 15 wins, 14 losses and two draws. You win some, you lose some.

For the most part, the entertainment factor has outweighed the results. Cricket is a national but niche sport in the United Kingdom, so throwaway defeats to Sri Lanka at the end of the 2024 summer or series defeats away to Pakistan a couple of months later are often either forgotten or forgiven for the overall shot in the arm the Bazball era has given the game in England. Like it or not, people turn out en masse to watch it. But the Ashes is English cricket's front-page moment. For the briefest of periods, the scrutiny is akin to what footballers experience. Entertainment becomes secondary to results, and no extra motivation is needed for a fanbase who have drunk the Kool-Aid and believed that, finally, this was England's time. Thousands of fans have spent thousands of pounds on a trip of a lifetime to watch England, if not win, then compete. For the first time, fast-paced defeats could lead to real-life consequences.