Ashes 2013-14: England need to make changes from Alastair Cook down after Australia's total domination Australia have set a 500-run target for three Tests in a row for the first time in Test history: that is complete domination. But England have two showpiece Test matches to go. They will play in front of about 350,000 people over five days in Melbourne, another couple of hundred thousand in Sydney with millions watching on television around the world. England fans will have saved up to fly to Australia for the Boxing Day and Sydney Tests to support the team, so they have to show some spirit. They can remind everyone why they were one of the best teams in the world. At the moment, they are playing nowhere near that. The reason England have lost the Ashes is pretty obvious. Their first-innings batting has not been good enough and that has had many consequences. It means the bowlers have not had enough rest. They have fielded every day bar two in the series and that can break the spirit and produce a selfish mentality with batters blaming bowlers and vice versa. England have dropped some simple chances in the field and that has made it worse for the bowlers. Australia have put pressure on Cook's captaincy. I do not question the fine things he does as a leader in the dressing room. He is a great bloke, fun company, and represents his country very well. I thought on day one in Adelaide he was exceptional. It was a windy day and very difficult for juggling bowlers and changing fielding positions, but he had his best day as England captain. But I have said all along he needs to improve tactically and, since that day in Adelaide, he has gone downhill. It has not been easy, but when the chips are down the skipper has to take charge and be backed up by his senior players. I think being down on form with the bat has affected his captaincy, too. Everyone in both commentary boxes was astonished watching him captain in Australia's second innings in Perth. He followed the ball wherever it went. You felt the wheels were falling off. The fielding was poor, Matt Prior was having a shocker behind the stumps, and it was a tough time for Cook, but I think he had switched into batting mode. My advice to the skipper would be to take charge and give the team a serious rocket. England have to be more proactive. They have played cricket that has been too reactive. Credit must go to the Aussies, but it is the lack of fight and spirit that has surprised all of us. England need to work out what brand of cricket they want to play. By showing a bit more aggression in the second innings in Perth they made their highest score. The intent came from a guy playing just his second Test, but at least he showed the way. England must get their batting order right. I have nothing against Joe Root. He is a quality player and will be for a long time. But he scored 19 runs off 88 balls in the second innings in Perth and has a strike rate of 32.48, the lowest of any top-order batsman in the series. He allowed the bowlers to dictate to him. Ian Bell is in the form of his life. He is aggressive and puts the pressure back on the bowlers. I think England have missed a huge trick by not batting him at three. If you think back to Adelaide, Bell could have ensured a different outcome in that match. In the first innings there, England were 66 for three when he came in. He took the attack to Australia, making 72 off 106 balls. He showed the right intent. If he had been given a chance earlier in the innings in both Adelaide and Perth it might have been a different story for England. He has to bat at three in Melbourne. With Kevin Pietersen you take the good with the bad. Yes, it was a disappointing shot in Perth and yes, he played a bad shot in Adelaide. But he tried similar strokes in Mumbai when he scored 180 and played one of the most remarkable innings I have ever seen. It is frustrating and annoying when it fails but get off his case because, if you keep hammering him, he will not give us those great inning. If everyone tells him to stop playing his way he will bat like he did in the first innings in Perth. He crawled to 19 off 59 balls. That is not Pietersen and he still got out anyway. Graeme Swann started well in Perth but then he went back to bowling to defend and not go for wickets. If in doubt, attack. He was under a bit of pressure. I would have liked to have seen him show what he has got in these last two Tests but it was not to be. Australia have gone after England's spirit. It is time for them to show some toughness and fight.