What next for England after Lewis' sacking?

Heather Knight is yet to confirm whether she will remain as England captain

Jon Lewis is not the first England coach or captain to fall victim to the ruthless scrutiny that follows a heavy Ashes defeat, and he certainly will not be the last.

The series, which ended in February with a 16-0 thrashing, saw England's women placed under a microscope of pressure, criticism and attention like never before.

Much of that came down to England's below-par, and often meek, performances, but a considerable amount was also down to their attitude and the perception they displayed to their fans and the media.

Since his appointment in November 2022, Lewis has been the driver of England's external messaging, constantly preaching about aggression, fearlessness and entertainment.

The peak of his tenure came in the summer of 2023, when Heather Knight's side fought back from 6-0 down in the home Ashes to draw 8-8. It was a series that had record crowds in grounds including Edgbaston, Lord's and The Oval and showed England were capable of competing with, and beating, the world's best.

But after two T20 disappointments in 2023 and 2024 and an away Ashes humiliation, endless talk of processes and style was wearing thin with England followers - they just wanted to win something meaningful, something that has not been achieved since the 50-over World Cup win at Lord's in 2017.

The next global tournament is approaching in India at the end of the summer, which will be the first major assignment for England's next coach.

Before then, home series against West Indies and India, where there will be plenty for the side and the management to learn and put right from Lewis' tenure.

What went wrong for Lewis and England?

Despite the cloud of negativity under which he has departed, Lewis' record as coach is solid, with a win percentage of 71% across all formats.

But the biggest learning curve for England from the Ashes and Lewis' era is that winning bilateral series, with all due respect to the opposition, do not count for much.

The home summer of 2024 which saw dominant clean sweeps against Pakistan and New Zealand was quickly forgotten when England crashed out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage following a shambolic display against West Indies.

The comprehensive series win in South Africa in December meant little when they were outplayed on every occasion in Australia less than a month later.

Under Lewis, England have shown what they are capable of at times, most notably during that memorable home Ashes, but they have also shown far too often that they cannot do it when it counts.

After the humbling at the beginning of the year, the managing director of England women's cricket Clare Connor repeated Lewis' common statement that their side is not put under pressure frequently enough outside of Ashes series and World Cups - but that is a difficult excuse to stand up when Australia, so far ahead of the rest of the world, seem to manage pretty well.

England will once again be expected to dominate this upcoming home summer, but the World Cup in India presents an enormous challenge in terms of the conditions and the physical toll it could take.

They may not be favourites - Australia always are, and India will be confident on home soil - but over the past two years England have been unable to get past the semi-final stage and for the team ranked second in the world that is unacceptable.

For the new coach, and potentially new captain - Knight's future is still uncertain - it is a difficult challenge but one that could go a long way in winning back some fans, but they cannot afford another case of deja vu.

Confront the team's perception

Connor also acknowledged that the team's reputation had taken a hit, but refuted claims of "cosiness" or a lack of professionalism.

But honesty will go a long way in winning back fans for England, and the new coach cannot fix a problem unless they accept there is one.

Sophie Ecclestone's refusal to do a pre-match interview with Channel 7 pundit and former England spinner Alex Hartley gave England more unwanted headlines, and while Connor admitted it was an "unfortunate incident" that would not be repeated, it threw the team's perception and attitude into the limelight, giving the impression of a culture which enabled one of its best players to make such an unprofessional call with little consequence.

Lewis and Knight started to lose credibility with the repeated claims of being "so close" to beating Australia after the first few defeats, leaving fans and the media wondering whether we had all been watching different games.

It was also left to Knight and others to front up to the press after each crushing defeat, each one becoming more awkward and painful, with Lewis waiting until the third T20 in Adelaide - with the series already gone - until he eventually stepped forward.

From that came his infamous quote about the "Bondi to Coogee" walk which suggested that Australia's climate and outdoor lifestyle was a factor in their athleticism being so superior to England's.

Naturally, as with all woeful Ashes tours, the Australian media needed no encouragement to latch on to an opportunity for mocking and it felt like a turning point for Lewis' reign and that it would be very difficult for him and the team to recover.

Time to get back to basics

So, just how can the new coach avoid the same mistakes on the field, too?

The review into the Ashes defeat is yet to be published but in terms of their on-field performances, England need to concentrate on going back to basics.

They were largely dominated by Australia, but there were also multiple instances of England gifting them opportunities to win - consider the inability to chase 181 in the second one-day international at Melbourne's Junction Oval, or the embarrassing second day of the Test match which saw seven dropped catches.

The team's fielding in general should be very high, if not top, of the new coach's to-do list - it is a huge area for improvement where England have faltered under Lewis, with drops also costing them in the T20 World Cup.

Similarly is their ability to play spin, and with a World Cup in India approaching, they have less time to rectify this weakness but it should be a non-negotiable.

During the Ashes, they lost 40 wickets to spin at an average of 12.3 and a strike-rate of just 53.7.

Again, it is time to forget Lewis' talk of aggression and expressing yourself - it is clearly not working. The batters evidently need direction in this regard; they need to adopt clear, individual plans against slower bowling before being left to their own devices.

If Lewis' reign was all about freedom and flexibility, it is possible that - or at least until these basics are done right - an element of structure and discipline would not do England any harm.