England's evolution faces a litmus test

It was telling that, amid all the talk of "turned corners" and "new ages" on the eve of the Investec Ashes, the Test rankings should be published showing England down to No. 6 in the world.

Such a lowly ranking should hurt England. It should hurt a side who have advantages of which Pakistan, for example, can only dream. It should hurt a side whose board, not so long ago, carved up world cricket to try and ensure they retained such advantages. It should hurt.

And it should provide a reminder, if any were required, that for all the positivity following the limited-overs win against New Zealand that this England side are, to date, strong on potential and weak on achievement. It was a reminder that they have won only one of their last five Test series and that the last time these two old foe met, Australia were the overwhelming victors. Nobody should doubt the enormity of the task in front of England in this series: Australia are strong favourites.

And yet, hope continues to smoulder. It is not just that there are more than a few chinks in the Australian armour - they have won only two of their last 15 Ashes Tests in England (or Wales) and lost 10 of their last 16 away Tests - but that, irrespective of the statistics, the sense is that England have a few young players who have the talent and character to lead England to higher ground.

Ben Stokes, for example, may well be England's most talented allrounder since Ian Botham. Jos Buttler has the strokeplay to drive bowlers to distraction and Gary Ballance recently entered the top 10 quickest men to reach 1,000 Test runs. They have no shortage of talent, motivation or potential.

But potential is the most over-used word in cricket. It is, rightly or wrongly, still Ashes series that define the reputation of an England player and, against this opposition, all three men are unproven. While Stokes enjoyed some good moments with bat and ball in the 2013-14 Ashes series, Ballance and Buttler have played only one Ashes Test between them and even Joe Root knows that his average against Australia - 33.18 - is modest for one with such ability. All face tests that will go some of the way to defining their careers over the next seven weeks.

In reality this series may have come slightly early in the development cycle of the England team. It may be we reflect that Mark Wood and Adam Lyth, with just two Tests each, were a little green and that Ballance and Root and Stokes and Buttler were still learning their trade as international players. It may be that we come to reflect on this series as the Australian team reflect on the Ashes of 2013. They were defeated, yes, but they learned plenty under their new coach, Darren Lehmann, and were better equipped for the challenges ahead.

But England cannot go into this series looking for moral victories. They cannot use it as a training ground or as a rehearsal studio. They cannot accept defeat on the basis that they have learned from the experience. This is the Ashes. This is the final destination. As Andrew Strauss stated last week: "Ultimately it's very hard to come out of an Ashes series as a loser and be pretty happy with yourself. It is about winning and losing, as professional sport is, generally."

The burden for England is that victory alone is not enough. As the lukewarm reaction to a perfectly respectable 3-0 victory in 2013 showed us, they are not only required to win but win with style.

Perhaps because of raised expectations caused by T20 cricket, perhaps because of the variety of competing leisure pursuits, perhaps because of the long-term damage caused by the lack of cricket on free-to-air TV, the game in the UK finds itself fighting for the oxygen of publicity. Winning would help it inspire more supporters, certainly, but winning with style would help far more.

England have talked a good game in this regard over the last few weeks. Even in his pre-match media conference, Alastair Cook admitted that, at the start of his period as captain, he had become accustomed to leading "a methodical team" which contained bowlers who were expert in "really banging out areas time again" and batsmen who "relentlessly ground down opposition" whereas now, with "a more free-spirited" side, he had to "be able to get on that front foot as captain." In short, he had to captain the aggressive team he has now to their strengths, not attempt to mould them into the team of 2012.

It is debatable that such a narrative stands up to scrutiny. While England have lost players such as Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott since Cook was appointed captain on a permanent basis, they have also lost Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Matt Prior. None of those three could be described as methodical. And while there are a couple of dynamic new players in the side - the likes of Stokes and Buttler - the opening bowlers are the same and Ballance, at No. 3, has done an admirable job of providing a like-for-like replacement for Trott.

But sometimes it does not matter what the reality is. Perception is everything. And if England feel they are more comfortable playing aggressive cricket, they should play it. And they should play it in the knowledge that they will face far less criticism if they go down fighting than if they adopt a safety first approach.

For that reason, they have an opportunity. They have an opportunity to play the sort of exciting cricket that can capture the hearts of a nation and the sort of exciting cricket that can knock Australia off their game. They have an opportunity to show they have learned from New Zealand and that, playing with a smile and respect for their opposition, is not a sign of weakness, but a hallmark of strength. They have an opportunity to leave the snarls and sledges to Australia and to win the arguments with skill and flair. They have an opportunity, with no major football or athletics events to share the headlines, to put cricket at the centre of the British summer. They have an opportunity to not just earn respect for winning, but affection for winning with style. They have an opportunity to prove that the No. 6 ranking is wrong.

England can win. If Moeen Ali can rediscover the consistency he demonstrated against India, if James Anderson and Stuart Broad can utilise the new ball, if Ballance and Cook and Lyth can see off the new ball, if Root can sustain his magnificent form and Stokes can prove himself to be the player many suspect he is, England can win. The time for talk is over.