News India Live, Digital Desk: It is said that it does not take long for the wheel of time to turn. Till some time back, the ‘baseball’ style with which the England Test team was roaming around the world as a lion, today the same style has made them stand at the crossroads. Looking at the plight of England in the Ashes series (Ashes 2025-26) played in Australia, it seems that the team has now again reached the place from where it had started this new path. This defeat of England has raised questions on those ‘three wise faces’ who had changed the entire structure of the team – Ben Stokes (captain), Brendon McCullum (coach) and Rob Key (managing Director). There was a time when these three were called ‘Three Wise Men’, but today a heated debate has erupted over their strategies. Where did baseball go wrong? (The Ashes Nightmare) If you follow Test cricket, you must have seen that England’s ‘fast-paced’ style of play flourished on home pitches, but did not work well on the bouncy pitches of Australia. It seemed as if the Australian bowlers had destroyed England’s batting. People are now asking on social media, was it just ego that you just wanted to take shots blindly even in front of the most dangerous attack in the world? When the defeat is so crushing that the team lags behind by 4-0 or 5-0 (as the case may be), then there is bound to be criticism. Former cricketers say that just being fearless is not enough, technique and patience also matter in Test cricket, which England did not see anywhere in this series. Big challenge in front of Ben Stokes and McCullum. No one underestimates the courage of Ben Stokes as a captain, but his own form and decisions in Australia were sometimes beyond comprehension. Coach Brendon McCullum, who is considered the real father of this baseball, is now under the most pressure. It is often said that when the team wins, your mistakes get hidden. But when you lose badly, every small mistake becomes a big mountain. Robbie, who had taken the risk of selecting this pair, now has very few arguments left to answer those criticisms. What will happen next? There is a lot of commotion in the corridors of English cricket. Will the management change its approach now or will it remain adamant? The fans are angry at the fact that you missed a big opportunity to win in Australia just because of your stubbornness. In the coming days, there is no threat to the positions of coaches McCullum and Stokes, but their autonomy can definitely be curbed. The truth is that ‘Ashes’ is not just a series, for England it is their self-respect. And when self-esteem takes such a deep hit, it often leads to the departure of big faces. Now it remains to be seen what lesson England learns from these mistakes. Do you also think that ‘Baseball’ is not suitable for Test cricket? Or should England continue to rely on this style? Please tell us your opinion in the comments.