AFTER an Ashes hammering for Joe Root and co, Cumbrian former England wicketkeeper Paul Nixon tells Jon Colman they must try to salvage pride in the fourth Test, whilst also learning lessons on and off the pitch

JOE Root, in a recent press conference, said that England hadn't been hammered. I slightly beg to differ on that.

At 3-0, Australia have won convincingly at every stage.

The latest, an innings defeat in Perth that finally cost England the Ashes, saw the tourists collapse to 403 all out, having been 368 for four. On the face of it that might not look like the biggest flaw of the series.

But for me, it summed things up. Throughout, the Aussies have given us a masterclass in batting. Just batting and batting. Steve Smith has been world-class, and he showed the reality of the situation when England were starting to think 400 might be enough, first up.

The Australians are so used to their pitches, and so used to getting really big scores at places like the Waca, that it is ingrained. It is in their psyche to out-bat a side, because they do it so often.

In Australia, when you get in and get 50, you have to keep going and going. Graham Gooch used to talk about "daddy hundreds", and Australia is the place to get them.

Fifties in Australia in Test match cricket are like 20s and 30s in other countries. Once you get in, you have to stay in. You have a lot of time to bat and you have to use it.

There have been loads of frustrations from England's point of view this winter. It has been frustrating that Ben Stokes, who still hasn't yet been charged with anything, let alone convicted, is in New Zealand playing cricket, but not Australia.

It frustrates me that Mark Wood is playing for England Lions, not bringing his extra pace and adrenaline to the Test side. When, realistically, England did not look like winning, why did they not take that risk?

It is too late now, of course, and the debate will now concern where they go from here - and where certain individuals go. Nathan Lyon, before the series, said a big Aussie win might end the careers of some England players.

It's a tough one. Jimmy Anderson has still bowled beautifully at times, and Stuart Broad has had a couple of good spells without luck, while in Alastair Cook's case it is the first real blemish on his record for a long, long time.

We probably have to look deeper than that. Personally, I think the batting order was wrong from the start, which was proved when Jonny Bairstow scored a hundred when finally promoted to six.

We should have mixed the left-handers up because of the challenge of facing Lyon, and it also disappointed me how the right-handers played the spinner.

As an off-spinner bowling to right-handers, Lyon may not always spin the ball hugely, but he gets good drift. It makes batsmen play at balls that are wider than anticipated.

He is a class act, but England have still played him poorly. We haven't got to off-stump and played him straight, or through mid-on.

Are there positives? One or two, I guess. Mark Stoneman has shown he's a good player. James Vince has given glimpses that he is capable at this level, although he has to be tighter with his judgement on when to leave the ball outside off-stump.

Dawid Malan showed some great temperament in the middle order and playing in games like this will make him realise he can get those bigger scores that we need.

There are other areas, though, where England must develop. It's crucial we look also at the athleticism of young cricketers, to produce faster bowlers, while the absence of a high-class spinner since the days of Graeme Swann is an obvious concern.

To a degree county cricket is at fault for not producing enough turning pitches.

The way we develop and coach spinners is an issue, too. Young spin bowlers don't have to have a perfect action, as long as they are spinning it. They have to be encouraged.

It's important we keep getting loads of kids into our great game with the desire to play for their country. From the ages of 10-15 they have got to play a lot more cricket, get more match awareness, learn how to get through different situations.

They have to be allowed to make mistakes, learn from them and grow.

Debate is also following the position of Trevor Bayliss as coach now.

For me, a coach has to be accountable for his team, inspire his team and show leadership and support.

There will hopefully be a review of all that happened, where players will be given the freedom to talk about the management team.

In that, issues off the pitch will also have to come to the fore.

The Bairstow incident was, for me, blow out of all proportion, but the Ben Duckett incident should have been kept in-house, whether it was a bit of fun or not.

There will always be some petty squabbles and minor incidents on a tour. You are talking about a group of blokes who are living, breathing and eating with each other 24/7, who are all passionate about what they are doing, will have strong views and could, at certain times, be quite highly-strung, competing with and against each other to do well.

When that overlaps in any way, you deal with it more smartly than letting things reach the press after nights on the town.

You do have to be whiter than white, especially these days, when everyone has a mobile phone with a video function. As an England cricketer, just don't put yourself in those situations. And as management, weigh up which players are high-risk and which are low-risk in that sort of scenario.

Some can handle it, others fall foul of it. Anticipating things is much better to reacting once they have happened.

It is onto Melbourne now for the fourth Test, and the hope England can regain a bit of pride.

When you tour Australia, you feel like every single Aussie is against you and wants you to fail miserably. That is a massive part of the challenge.

At the MCG, that feeling is doubled, because you have 100,000 people screaming their heads off, hammering any England player that goes within half a mile of the boundary rope.

It is relentless, and ramped up. They will have to show real mental toughness from Boxing Day.

At this particular place, you really have to want to be in the battle. You have to relish it. Show your team-mates and everyone else that you're up for the fight. Have that hard mindset for one ball at a time.

The rest of the venues in the Ashes are cricket grounds. The MCG is a coliseum. That makes it tougher, but there is no better place to win.

In 2007 in the one-day series I remember walking off with Paul Collingwood, arms in the air, Barmy Army going nuts after our big win, and let me tell you, it doesn't get much better than that.

To taste even a little of that, in the circumstances, would be massive for the Test side now.