3 reasons why the 2013-14 Ashes was so one-sided

On 25 October 2013, the England team arrived in Perth for what would be an ill-fated tour. They had just beaten Australia two months earlier and had won 3-1 on their last trip down under, so why was this so disastrous for England?

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#1 Mitchell Johnson

Mitchell Johnson in delivery stride (Fourth Test: Day 3)

Revered by England supporters, Mitchell Johnson had an unforgettable series with the ball.

He introduced himself to England fans in the Ashes series of 2009, quickly becoming the subject of the Barmy Army's chants for his less than consistent performances. Similar form followed in England's series victory in 2010-11 and was not included in the test squad of 2013 in England.

However, he showed signs of form in the ODI series that followed. Bowling fast and aggressively, Johnson was starting to return to the impressive form that he had shown against South Africa in 2008-09. The sort of form that began to worry England for the Ashes tour later that year. Johnson took 4-61 in the first innings where England were dismissed for 136, and followed that up with figures of 5-42 in a 381 runs victory.

Sporting his famous handlebar moustache, Johnson finished the series with 37 wickets, a total 15 higher than any other player. Compared to his performances in 2010-11, the Queenslander had now shaken off his wayward tag was able to terrify the English. His dominant performance in the series is undoubtedly a factor in Australia's whitewash of England.

Mitchell Starc will be hoping to emulate his namesake and former teammate in dominating the English batsmen.

#2 Captain Cook

Cook struggled to replicate his form of 2010-11

Alistair Cook began his reign as England captain after Andrew Strauss's retirement in 2012. Cook was able to lead his team to a series victory in India in 2012 but was unable to replicate such success the following winter.

The captain and former captain had formed a formidable opening partnership and Cook was named the player of the series in 2010-11, amassing 766 runs in the five Tests. However, with captaincy responsibilities on his shoulders and a rampant Mitchell Johnson opening the bowling, Cook did not impress with the bat.

Strauss left both a hole at the top of the order but also in terms of captaincy. Many pundits have argued that Cook's poor captaincy contributed to England's downfall. His rigidness and reactive style meant that England were always on the back foot.

Earlier this year, Cook gave up the captaincy, and it will be Joe Root that will hope to retain the Ashes urn for England.

#3 Unsettled squad and out of form

England players toil in the field

By the time England faced Australia in 2010-11, the first XI had been fairly settled for a number of years. Jonathan Trott had nailed down the number 3 position, that had been left open since Michael Vaughan, and Graeme Swann was quickly becoming one of England's greatest ever spin bowlers.

After impressive performances on that tour, Chris Tremlett was troubled by injuries between then and the 2013-14 campaign. He was unable to appear too often for England but was selected for the disastrous Ashes series and unable to perform with the ball.

Following Strauss's departure, two opening batsmen had already accompanied Cook, and another in Michael Carberry played in 2013-14. Nick Compton was dismissed following poor form, and it was decided that Joe Root would move down the batting order between the two Ashes series.

Ironically it was only Cook who was searching for form in the summer of 2010, who went on to star in Australia. Conversely, by 2013-14 many were at the top of their games. Even in the 2013 home series, it was only Ian Bell that had starred with the bat and perhaps papered over the cracks in the team.

An unsettled out of form England were no match for Michael Clarke and his chief destroyer Mitchell Johnson.