Marcus Trescothick says England will stick to their attacking principles

England’s beleaguered batters have held “no discussions” about the repetitive nature of their Ashes dismissals, but assistant coach Marcus Trescothick insists they “respect the game”.

The larger-than-life aggression that has characterised the ups and downs of the so-called ‘Bazball’ era has detonated on arrival in Australia, with a growing collection of increasingly familiar dismissals.

After being shot out for 172 and 164 in a two-day defeat in Perth, England are now staring at the likelihood of another heavy loss on day four of the day/night second Test at the Gabba.

Having watched Australia run up 511 for a first-innings lead of 177 in Brisbane, they responded by slumping to 134 for six as the pink ball worked its magic under lights. Another 43 runs were needed to just to stave off the indignity of an innings defeat.

England’s batters have consistently tried to defy conventional wisdom, which dictates that driving expansively at the top of the bounce is a sure road to ruin on Australian pitches. It is a battle they have yet to win, instead feeding a steady stream of edges and return catches to the home attack.

Their latest implosion saw Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope caught and bowled throwing hands at Michael Neser, who dropped a similar chance off Ben Duckett, while Jamie Smith nicked off on the drive.

Trescothick, whose chief responsibility is as a batting coach, was handed the unenviable task of explaining away the struggles but was able to offer little beyond rigid belief in the method.

“No discussions took place about driving on the up. There was no need to have a knee-jerk reaction to what was a tough pitch in Perth,” he said.

“We are trying to play the way we want to play. You have to have a style of play you stick to, don’t you?

“We want to utilise that in the best possible fashion. It doesn’t always go right, of course. You want to adapt and be conditions dependent but we have built the way we want to build the team, and (are) trusting the guys we have.

“We have been put under pressure in various places in the last two days, and of course that has been challenging. But we are always trying to respect the situation and respect the game: learn and be better next time we get that chance.

“It was a tough day. We are obviously not in a great position and it’s been quite challenging watching what is going on, Australia getting ahead of the game and putting us under pressure. That is never great. It’s something for us to take away, try to learn from and find solutions.”

Trescothick’s words are unlikely to contain the answers dejected England fans want to hear, particularly those who have made the costly trip Down Under in the hope of seeing the urn come home, but they are at least consistent.

Head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have gone all in on their principles, predominantly empowering every player to back themselves with maximum positivity, and have made it clear they will not turn back.

Scott Boland summed up how it felt for an opposition bowler, adding: “They always play their shots…if we put as many balls (as possible) in the right areas they’re going to give you some chances.”