The heat is on coach Trevor Bayliss as he attempts to improve England's batting, bowling and behaviour this summer.
Bayliss is one of the best cricket brains in the business. The Australian was hired by the England and Wales Cricket Board on the eve of the 2015 Ashes and helped the hosts to reclaim the urn.
He was the first notable coach to recognise Steve Smith's potential - asking him to captain the Sydney Sixers and bat at first drop for NSW.
But pressure is starting to build on Bayliss and it's unlikely to ease if Smith's side take an unassailable 3-0 lead in this series with a win in the third Ashes Test at the WACA.
Much of the criticism and scrutiny has centred on a series of alcohol-fuelled incidents. Bayliss has put his charges on notice that careers are at stake if anybody misbehaves - but some pundits wonder why he hadn't taken control of the situation earlier.
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"No doubt he'd be hurting," former Test opener Simon Katich said, having played under Bayliss for NSW.
"He knows his head is on the chopping block if they lose 5-0, given all this stuff that has unfolded under his watch.
"He's got a fantastic record as a coach. Wherever he's been, he has had success.
"He's given them (England players) that freedom to make their own decisions which is one of his trademarks. He's very relaxed - enjoys guys having fun.
"But there comes a time when you overstep the mark and you can't keep doing it."
Former skipper Alastair Cook detailed this week how his team's world had changed since Ben Stokes' September street brawl.
Katich suggested coming down hard on Stokes after that stoush might have helped improve the side's off-field behaviour.
"They could have said: 'he's not coming regardless. That's because of the standards we set as a team; we don't think it's appropriate. I know there's an investigation going on, that it's a legal matter ... but purely because of our team rules and ethos, we're not going to accept that'," Katich said.
"It might have put a lot of this stuff to bed. I can only speculate."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan noted it was up to the players to change, not Bayliss.
"He can't stop a young player at 2am from flicking a bit of booze on someone," Vaughan said.
Nathan Lyon, speaking before the second Test, described Bayliss as "one of my favourite coaches".
"He's very calm; there's not much emotion flying around. He will know what to say to get the English back on track," Lyon said.
