England 's 1-0 series defeat to the West Indies saw them hit a new low, with Joe Root's side having failed to win any of their last five Test series for the first time in their history.
The tour was meant to be the start of a new era, a so-called 'red ball reset' after England's humiliating 4-0 loss to Australia in the Ashes. It did not go to plan though, with England drawing the first two Tests and comprehensively losing the final one by ten wickets, further exposing their limitations in Test cricket.
Of course, there are deep structural problems plaguing the England team and the ECB have commissioned a high-performance review panel to look into the state of English cricket. However, recommendations from the review are set to be published in September and could shape a potential restructure of the English game from 2023.
As a result, Mirror Sport has taken a look at five of the more immediate issues England need to address, some of which will be easier than others to find solutions for...
New managing director and head coach
First on the agenda is the appointment of a new managing director and head coach. Both Ashley Giles and Chris Silverwood were axed following the Ashes, with Strauss and Paul Collingwood replacing them on an interim basis.
England are hoping to name their new managing director next month, with whoever gets that job tasked with appointing the new coach. Former Australia international Marcus North, who is currently Durham's director of cricket, is reportedly the frontrunner while the likes of Rob Key, Ed Smith and Mark Nicholas are also said to have applied.
Regarding the head coach, England need to decide whether they want to split the roles between red and white ball cricket. And a split would surely be ideal given the wildly different states of the two teams, with England among the best in the world at white ball cricket but bottom of the World Test Championship.
In white ball cricket, an in-house candidate like Collingwood or one of the franchise regulars like Mahela Jayawardene would be ideal. For the Test team, an experienced winner like Gary Kirsten or Justin Langer should be top of the list.
New captain
It was clear after the Ashes that Root's time as England captain should be over. Although it has not affected his output with the bat, Root certainly has limitations as a captain.
Under his leadership, England have tended to let games drift in the field. For example, over the past two years opposition teams have had 14 eighth, ninth and tenth wicket partnerships of 40+ against England - more than any other Test nation.
"Tactically he consistently misses a trick," former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote in his recent column for the Telegraph. "It has been a consistent trend that when England have been put under pressure on Joe’s watch they have not been able to cope."
Of course, the big dilemma is who should replace Root, with only him and star all-rounder Ben Stokes seemingly guaranteed a spot in the team. However, that is simply not a good enough reason for Root to remain in charge.
Bring back Broad and Anderson
Having been axed for this tour so that England could "bring some new blood into the bowling resources", the favoured new-ball partnership of Chris Woakes and Craig Overton lacked penetration in the Caribbean. Although the surfaces in Antigua and Barbados offered little in the way of assistance for the seamers, Broad and Anderson would surely have made more of an impact in Grenada where Kyle Mayers took 7-31 in the match with his medium-pace bowling.
Despite both of them coming towards the end of their career, they remain two of England's best bowlers and still have plenty to offer. Alongside the likes of Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Olly Stone, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Fisher and Woakes (at home), England have an impressive battery of seamers to call on provided they can all stay fit.
Both Broad and Anderson have been open about their desire to continue playing international cricket and they should both feature for England this summer. Perhaps one of them could even be given the captaincy as a short-term option.
The opener dilemma
Ever since Strauss retired in 2012, England have been searching for a dependable opener. Sir Alastair Cook's retirement in 2018 only exacerbated the issue further, with England trialling 19 different openers since Strauss hung up his boots.
The latest pairing of Zak Crawley and Alex Lees managed just one partnership worth more than 50 runs against the West Indies and there are concerns over both of them. Despite scoring an excellent 121 in the first Test, Crawley's tendency to play a lot of big drives early in his innings means he will often get out cheaply.
Meanwhile, Lees' failure to kick on after making several solid starts drew criticism from ex-England coach David Lloyd, who said he "must seize the moment when it’s time to move the scoreboard on". However, a stubborn pair of 30s in Grenada when Jonny Bairstow was the only other frontline England batter to reach double figures suggests Lees is worth persisting with.
England's problems with spin
England have had a long-standing issue with spin dating back to the retirement of Graeme Swann in 2013. Moeen Ali was Swann's long-term replacement and he did an admirable job, given he was predominantly a batting all-rounder when he made his Test debut.
Current first-choice spinner Jack Leach has now played 22 Test matches for England, but has clear limitations as a spinner. In the first innings, Leach has taken 29 wickets at 51.86 whereas he has picked up 50 wickets at 20.30 in the second innings.
It is not surprising that a spinner would be more effective in the second innings, but both Swann and Moeen's first innings averages were in the 30s. After a chastening Ashes tour which saw him take six wickets at 53.50, Leach bowled admirably in the Caribbean.
His 11 wickets came at 30.81 and he was able to hold down an end but he ultimately failed to spin England to victory in Antigua and Barbados. England have seemingly been reluctant to trust Leach in the past and they need to make a decision over whether they want to persevere with him.
Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson is the next cab of the rank and boasts an impressive first-class record of 102 wickets at 23.35. Having first been named in an England Test squad in 2019, it is disappointing that he is yet to have been given an opportunity.
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