MELBOURNE - Coach Brendon McCullum concedes England got their preparations wrong heading into the Ashes, but believes they can salvage some pride in the final two Tests at Melbourne and Sydney.
The tourists arrived in Australia bullish that they could win a series in the country for the first time since 2010-11.
But their hopes imploded with heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane before a closer contest at Adelaide, leaving the ultra-aggressive "Bazball" style of cricket McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes pioneered in tatters.
Their Ashes demise in just 11 days was the joint-second quickest in more than a century.
England had just one warm-up fixture in Australia, against their second-tier Lions side, and lost the opening Test in Perth inside two days.
Former captains Ian Botham, Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch all criticised the limited preparation, with disgruntled skipper Ben Stokes sparking a backlash after calling them "has beens".
They then opted to skip a pink-ball opportunity in Canberra before the day-night second Test at the Gabba, instead spending five days in the Brisbane nets.
Like Perth, that Test was lost by eight wickets and McCullum bizarrely claimed they had "overprepared".
"What did we get right? What did we get wrong? Probably we go back to the preparation, that'll be something that gets questioned," McCullum told TNT Sports after the 82-run Adelaide defeat.
"And when you've lost 3-0, you need to put your hand up and say 'maybe I didn't get that preparation right'.
"It's not just leading into the first game. It's could we have done more leading into game one and could we have done less leading into game two?
"I didn't get that right because we lost 3-0. Lots to digest, look through and be better next time."
The fourth Test starts in Melbourne on December 26 and England could freshen up the side.