5 key takeaways for England after their capitulation in the Ashes

#4 The 'Cook' Conundrum

Alastair Cook's form is a serious cause for concern for England

By all means, Alastair Cook has been a great servant of the English cricket. The 32-year-old is the country's all-time record run-scorer in Test cricket, having racked up an incredible 11,712 runs across 150 Test matches. But the ex-captain Cook is struggling big time and he is now a mere shadow of the player used to be.

His determination to fight it out and build an inning is nowhere to be seen and now serious questions are being raised on his appetite to succeed at the highest level. He has scored just 83 runs in six innings, so far in the Ashes 2017/18, at a dismal average of 13.83.

In fact, he has now gone ten Test innings without reaching a half-century, a dry run which he had never experienced before. The 32-year-old has been on the losing side in 14 of the 18 Test matches he has played Down Under.

Newcomers Dawid Malan and James Vince played some fighting innings but they were severely devoid of any support from the senior partners.

The Ashes Down Under has a knack for ending careers of English cricketers and it seems this time Alastair Cook has his name written over this.