For England's batters, the heart seems unwilling and the mind unconvinced

It was like being offered a mouthful of the meal you wish you had ordered.

Ben Stokes and Will Jacks' tenacious - if ultimately futile - resistance on the fourth day at the Gabba served only to underline just how wrong England had already got it, a bite of someone else's steak that left them wondering how they had ended up with nothing more than a bowl of soggy chips.

Stokes and Jacks' partnership for the seventh wicket was worth 96 in 221 balls, the longest stand of the series on either side, and felt like England's captain directly rebuking his batters for their shot selection during a collapse of 5 for 38 on the third evening. They hit six boundaries between them, one every half-hour: "I just wanted us to fight," Stokes said.

Throughout his captaincy, Stokes has seen batting as an opportunity to make a point to his team-mates. In his first summer in the job, he would start in fifth gear and rarely change back down, scoring at a strike rate of 73.45; in 2025, he has slammed the brakes on, highlighting the need for some middle-order ballast with his strike rate dipping to 47.67.

"I said last night, 'we are where we are'. We talked about taking the scoreboard out of the equation," Stokes said. "Nothing's guaranteed in life, and nothing's guaranteed in sport, but as long as you walk out there and think in your head, 'I'm going to fight all the way to the end here', that's all you can focus on.

"What you saw from me and Will Jacks was me saying, 'anyone who's got responsibility left in this game, just show fight'. Sometimes, that doesn't show in the output of what you're trying to do. It's all in the mind."

For all that conditions were easier - the ball had gone soft, and there were no visibility issues in the daytime - it provided a stark contrast to England's approach the night before. The return catch that Zak Crawley chipped back to Michael Neser had summed up the ineptitude, a carbon copy of Ollie Pope's dismissal, which showed a total failure to learn from others' mistakes.

Jacks had a few sketchy moments during his innings of 41, most notably when Australia attacked him with the short ball. He may well have faced more bumpers on Sunday afternoon than in his 54 first-class appearances for Surrey but, after a handful of plays-and-misses, developed a method as he gradually grew in confidence. Put simply, he learned on the job.

Yet, far too many of his more experienced team-mates seem incapable of doing so: Crawley and Pope most obviously, who are both still making the same mistakes after more than 60 Tests each, but so too Harry Brook, whose decision to play a booming drive at the first pink ball he had ever faced from Mitchell Starc under lights was indefensible.

But the most galling aspect of England's struggles is that their batting line-up no longer resembles a side playing with a single-minded purpose and utter conviction in their approach. Brook aside, most of their dismissals in Brisbane came from half-hearted shots ill-suited to the Gabba's pace and bounce.

Australia have outperformed England across every main batting metric in the first two Tests: they have lost a wicket every 50.3 balls to England's 32.9; they have averaged 38.20 runs per wicket to England's 22.77; and they have even outscored England, going at 4.55 per over to England's 4.15. Really, this is barely even Bazball Lite.

Pope inadvertently summed up the confusion that has crept into the England dressing room two days out from the Test, providing a barely comprehensible answer when asked about their approach. The thrust was that "complete clarity" as to whether to attack or defend was vital, but he batted as though totally unclear - particularly in his skittish second innings.

Stokes and Brendon McCullum have attempted to "refine" their set-up - in terms of both method and personnel - over the past 18 months, an admission that beating the best Test teams demands nuance and nous. But the most notable effect appears to have been to dull England's attacking strength without improving at all on their shortcomings.

It was a theme that Stokes himself acknowledged after England's defeat, looking physically and emotionally drained after four gruelling days. Stokes said that he was "definitely not doubting" England's approach but made an unusually candid admission that his team has lacked the resilience and character to withstand pressure in this series.

"I remember my first team chat with Baz. It was, 'our blueprint is about applying pressure to the opposition, but also understanding that we do need to absorb that at moments'. I will agree, and say that we are a much better team at applying it than we are at absorbing it at the moment.

"You'll always see us chase the ball hard to the boundary, and you'll always see people leave everything out there on the field. That is the blueprint of this team. And we can definitely look to improve on the moments where we need to absorb [pressure], and just understanding a lot better what that looks like."

The fear is that it is too little, too late. England are already 2-0 down in the series, a deficit that has only once been overturned to win the urn in Ashes history. Stokes has a four-night stay in a Noosa resort and three training sessions in Adelaide to ensure that the message he tried to send has got across to his batters.

With every passing week, England's early success under Stokes and McCullum - the heady run of 13 wins in their first 18 Tests, including the intoxicating comeback from 2-0 down in the 2023 Ashes - looks increasingly like a cricketing equivalent of football's new-manager bounce. Since then, they have been a coin-flip team who have lost as many Tests as they have won.