The “New Beginning” England are resetting after a 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia and poor away results. Brendon McCullum took over as Test coach, replacing Chris Silverwood, with Ben Stokes as captain. McCullum explicitly wants to copy England’s white-ball turnaround under Eoin Morgan: strip away fear, remove “noise”, and play with freedom. Away frailties: England have repeatedly collapsed overseas. In New Zealand they batted well day 1 but then played “rash strokes” to throw away a good position, scoring 353 when 400+ was needed on a good pitch. Low totals: England have passed 400 in the 1st innings only 4 times since Joe Root became captain. Bazball criticism: The ultra-aggressive style failed to deliver series wins vs Australia or India, sparking calls for more “cricket intelligence” and tactical nous. But the lag has at least drawn the sting from some of the most salient post-Ashes talking points, though whether this is a good or a convenient thing probably depends on your point of view. To take a scattergun approach to some of those matters arising: no one's really seen any mention of the drinking culture that caused such wildfire offence post-Wellington and Noosa (once the independent Cricket Regulator had had its say, there was nothing more to see here, m'lud). We still don't have much of a handle on the disconnect between Stokes and Brendon McCullum that emerged as the series went off the rails in Brisbane. And in naming their original 15-man squad way back in mid-May, England ensured that the absences of Zak Crawley - the golden child of the original Bazball project - and Jofra Archer - double-booked at the IPL despite his ECB central contract - became such old hat that they escaped furious analysis. Mindset shift: McCullum says they want to “be better under pressure, navigate tactically, understand where you sit in the game” – closing out from ahead, fighting back when behind. Personnel changes: Dropping out-of-form players like Zak Crawley, recalling Shoaib Bashir, giving chances to new faces like Emilio Gay. Goal: Be ranked No. 1 by the next Ashes, and be “very difficult to beat” against top teams. The 35-degree heat of late May has given way to the cloudy sogginess of early June, as the Test summer prepares to get underway in less than clement conditions. Given the nature of the Lord's drainage, there ought to be plenty play in prospect over the coming five days, but the cloud cover promises to be a persistent factor even when the rain does stay away. Bottom line: England are trying to turn the page on years of overseas collapses and Ashes humiliation. Under McCullum/Stokes they’re pushing a reset focused on fearless but smarter cricket, hoping to leave behind the old pattern of rash batting and sub-par totals as they start a new cycle.