For all the bravado of BazBall and three-and-a-half years of planning for the Ashes, England are barely any closer to Australia than they were four summers ago.
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That is the sobering reality for Brendon McCullum and his touring side, after succumbing to the quickest series defeat in Australia ever.
With two Tests still to play and another whitewash on the cards, England are set for a period of introspection with cricket boss Robert Key and McCullum under the gun.
For years, England made no secret that they were building an attacking arsenal they felt could challenge in Australia.
But in just 11 days of play, they have again proven to be a muddled mess against an injury-hit Australian side.
England's bowling has gone backwards from four years ago, with Australia averaging 37.20 per wicket compared to 34.98 in 2021-22.
The tourists' batting has improved from 20.21 runs per wicket to 25.81.
What England have brought this summer has not been BazBall in its original form. Instead they are a team caught in the middle and seemingly riddled by mixed messaging.
The ramps, scoops and unorthodox fields they once employed are gone, but players picked for that approach remain.
Ben Duckett still refuses to leave, with his dismissal in the second over of England's chase in Adelaide highlighting their problems.
Where once he went hard at balls outside off stump, he instead prodded at a Pat Cummins delivery with no intent to score and edged it to second slip.
The fact he walked off practising his leave summed it up.
Harry Brook arrived as the world's second-best batter, but has one score above 50.
His dismissals headline England's woes, beginning with a second-ball duck in Perth as the tourists went from a 105-run lead with nine wickets in hand to losing the match by eight wickets five hours later.
At Adelaide Oval, England pulled their scoring in.
But this was the flattest pitch of the summer and Cummins admitted afterwards Australia were happy that England went on the defence.
Jamie Smith arrived being compared to Adam Gilchrist, but until the fourth innings in Adelaide battled with the gloves and bat.
Even if England had wanted to replace him, the back-up wicketkeeper is the horribly out-of-sorts Ollie Pope.
For 18 months, England prepared Shoaib Bashir to be their spinner for this series while overlooking the likes of Jack Leach.
Bashir is yet to play a Test Down Under after a horror run for the England Lions, while part-time spinner Will Jacks has four wickets at an average of 61.5.
Jofra Archer at least bowled well in Adelaide, but Mark Wood's injury has hurt the tourists.
All the while their fast-bowling coach Tim Southee has been away working in the ILT20, with David Saker drafted in after having never worked with any of their quicks.
England have also operated without a fielding coach, with the gulf between the two sides evident.
Much of the focus of England's defeat will be on their preparation and mid-summer holding in Noosa, with tales now emerging from that trip.
But bigger questions will remain over the team's identity, the future of McCullum, a disconnect with county cricket and what kind of side they will be come the 2027 Ashes.
Australian Associated Press
