Is Stokes England's only salvation?

Oh dear. It's safe to say that Pandora was not a betting woman, because there's not even any hope left for England in the 2017-18 Ashes, according to the bookies at Bet365, in the wake of a Gabba trouncing that was more comprehensive than even Australia might have hoped for in the build-up to the match.

It was nip and tuck for three days of the match, but Australia's ten-wicket win has ransacked the market. A final scoreline of 4-1 to Australia is now the favourite at 4/1, with a 5-0 whitewash ludicrously fancied at 5/1. If England are to win the series they are going to have to do it the hard way - a 3-2 scoreline is 14/1, while it is a minimum of 28/1 for Australia to fail to win another Test - England's hopes of turning the series on its head with four wins in a row is an outlandish 250/1.

There's little doubting who the odds-setters fancy as the Man of the Series, either. Steve Smith's stunning unbeaten 141 has him priced at 2/1 to pick up that accolade, and given it was one of the most important Ashes hundreds in living memory, it's hard to see him being dislodged unless England turn the tables in a catastrophic fashion.

And who might be best placed to do that, I wonder? Well, a certain Ben Stokes is lurking in the middle of the pack at 28/1, in spite of the fact that he has not yet been cleared to return to action following his arrest in Bristol. He is currently on a plane to New Zealand, ready to lurk off-shore like something out of the D-Day landings. If England are to pull off miracle, he may have to be the man.