Dressing room mirrors, Root's relief: England not out of it yet

England's battered cricketers will roll off their sun lounges, kick off their thongs and board a flight from the Sunshine Coast to Adelaide facing a challenge only achieved by one Test team in history.

The tourists, left reeling by thumping defeats in Perth and Brisbane, must win the final three Tests to overturn a 0-2 deficit and win back the Ashes urn.

The only team in Test cricket's 148-year history that has won a five-match series from 0-2 down was Australia in the 1936-37 Ashes. On that team was one Sir Donald Bradman.

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The optics are poor, but Ben Stokes' team has headed to Noosa for a mini holiday after going down by eight wickets at the Gabba on Sunday.

Here are three factors that bode well for England heading into its must-win Test at Adelaide Oval, beginning next Wednesday, and three positives for Australia.

What bodes well for England

The friendlier Adelaide wicket

As expected, many of England's batters were found out by the pace and bounce of the Perth and Brisbane wickets, which have traditionally left touring players all at sea.

Some of England's batters, in particular opener Zak Crawley and first drop Ollie Pope, did themselves no favours by repeatedly trying to drive on the up at Perth Stadium and the Gabba.

The visitors should find the going easier at Adelaide Oval, which historically produces wickets that are slower and not so bouncy.

It remains to be seen if England throws Bazball in the rubbish bin for the third Test, or at least plays "Bazball with brains", as the saying goes, but perhaps Crawley and company will have more success with their booming drives if they again pull them out in Adelaide.

Tough conversations are (seemingly) finally being had

England reeks of a team that is so convinced about its methods, including Bazball and its disregard for match practice, that it's not capable of having conversations that challenge the thinking within the camp.

Coach Brendon McCullum's remark that he felt he'd "over-prepared" his players for the Gabba Test did nothing to change that perception.

Maybe, however, the jab Stokes took at his teammates after the Brisbane Test suggested tough conversations were imminent.

"There is a saying that we have said a lot here — Australia is not for weak men," Stokes told the BBC.

"A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men, either."

If two hidings have forced England to finally put up some mirrors in its dressing room, that has got to be a good thing.

Root has got the monkey off his back

Joe Root, on his fourth tour of Australia and playing his 16th Test in this country, broke through in Brisbane for his maiden century Down Under.

"I've said a few times: this tour isn't about me scoring a hundred in Australia," Root said after reaching triple figures.

And though that may be true, doing so must have come with a huge sense of relief that will perhaps free him up to be his best for the rest of the tour.

What bodes well for Australia

Cummins, Lyon are set to return

Australia thrashed England in Perth by eight wickets despite the absence of Pat Cummins due to injury, then belted the tourists by the same margin in Brisbane without both Cummins and Nathan Lyon, who was dropped for Michael Neser.

Australia will welcome back for the Adelaide Test both Cummins and (all but certainly) Lyon, who between them have claimed 871 Test wickets.

Lyon, a former Adelaide Oval curator, has taken 63 Test wickets at 25.35 at the venue. It's a terrific record.

Cummins? Twenty-six wickets at 21.19.

As a sidenote, Lyon needs just one more Test wicket to match Glenn McGrath's tally of 563, while Cummins requires only one more to equal Brett Lee on 310.

The Aussies bat with their heads screwed on

Well, for the large part.

Cameron Green certainly wasn't when he backed away a couple of metres to take a wild slog at a Brydon Carse delivery in Brisbane just as Australia had an opportunity to ram home a commanding first-innings advantage. His stumps were demolished and criticism, including from former teammate David Warner, came thick and fast.

But, by and large, the Australians strike a healthy balance between batting that's positive and batting that's not negligent.

On that note, it will be intriguing to see how the batting line-up shapes up for the Adelaide Test, with Usman Khawaja hopeful of returning to the XI and Travis Head toggling between the middle order and an opening role.

A desire to replicate the 5-0 heroics

The core of the Australian team — the likes of Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Cummins and Lyon — hammered England 4-0 in each of the previous two Ashes series Down Under.

Of the current crop, only Smith and Lyon featured in Australia's 5-0 whitewash of England on these shores in 2013-14.

Starc, Cummins and, frankly, every other player have more than likely flirted with the prospect in their own minds of winning 5-0, just like the all-conquering Australian sides of 2013-14 and 2006-07.