A failure to cope with pressure and physical preparation will form key lines of inquiry during a review of England's 16-0 Ashes drubbing aimed at turning performances around in time for the 50-over World Cup in October.
Clare Connor, managing director of England women's cricket, confirmed the review would consider team leadership - including, but not restricted to, head coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight, as well as all aspects of team fitness.
"It's been very evident that the Australia women's cricket team are setting new standards of athleticism in our sport and that's obviously one area where we have been out-shone," Connor said.
"One thing I think will be true is that our players will have to look at that level of athleticism and speed and power and the athleticism that is evident in their fielding and see that as a new benchmark.
"Credit to Australia for taking the standards of international women's cricket to another level over the last month. Their ruthlessness in doing that is admirable and I think will give us a huge amount to think about as we go home and reflect."
England lost every match of the multi-format Ashes series which ended with an innings defeat inside three days in the MCG Test after failing to register any points from the three ODIs or three T20Is, losing two of the latter by more than 50 runs.
They were dominated physically and mentally by the Australians, who suffered several injuries to key players yet were able to adapt and crush their opponents.
"One of the main things that is evident is the ability to play under pressure," Connor said. "We have shown glimpses of being able to do that, certain individuals have, but as a collective we have to be honest and say that we haven't handled the pressure of this series in the way that we want to and we'll need to compete in future Ashes and a World Cup every year. That'll be a key area of focus, and how we fast-track that capability."
Performing under pressure isn't a new focus for the team. During England's home summer in 2024 when they hosted Pakistan and New Zealand, coaching staff put the team in various unexpected scenarios such as last-minute team changes, and Knight sitting a game out.
But those attempts to accelerate learning against sides which otherwise posed little challenge fell flat against the mighty Australians, and at the T20 World Cup before that, where England exited in the group stages after a shocking fielding performance against West Indies.
"One of the reflections, immediate reflections, and I'm sure it'll evolve over the coming weeks, is the sort of scarcity of time when our players are under pressure," Connor said.
"The run-in to the T20 World Cup last October, we'd dominated all of the cricket we'd played in for almost 18 months. Within that were two white-ball series wins against Australia in the home Ashes in 2023 where we got onto a run of confidence and performance and skill that exposed Australia under pressure and showed some of their vulnerability when you can get into them."
While Connor spoke of trying to find more ways to put players under pressure, including through the domestic system and A-team tours, another theme emerged.
England seem to struggle with tempering the confidence gained from successfully navigating those situations with the reality of facing a superior side. They need to move beyond the satisfaction of pushing Australia in 2023 and focus on ways to dominate them.
Hosting India this summer before big crowds could prove a helpful test ahead of October's 50-over World Cup in India, and Connor believes there is no alternative but to turn England's form around by then.
"We have to do that," she said. "We have to use time wisely. We've now got the opportunity to really hold the mirror up to where we are and what has gone well and what hasn't gone well and what needs to happen and when, by whom, to take the team forward."
England's World Cup and Ashes shortcomings have put Lewis and Knight under pressure. Immediately after the Melbourne Test, Lewis said he believed he was the right person to take the team forward, while Knight said she wouldn't make any knee-jerk declarations on her future as captain.
"I think there's a lot of collective learning for us around leadership," Connor told a media briefing by phone from Melbourne. "Heather and Jon are more disappointed and frustrated than anybody.
"Everybody on this call knows what Heather Knight pumps into being England women's captain. So that will form part of discussions over the coming weeks, all of the areas of accountability in our set-up, with the ultimate goal of, in the short term, being ready for this summer and then being ready to get on a plane to the World Cup in India.
"With any team sport defeat or success, responsibility for that and accountability lies with lots of us. It's not just the captain and the head coach, it's people who are all in leadership positions making decisions. We won't shy away from difficult and honest conversations about how to take the team forward because that's our jobs, for several of us."
The absence of a clear-cut successor to Knight amid a four-pronged leadership group that also includes Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone, or beyond, should also be considered when assessing the captaincy position.
Connor said Ecclestone's refusal to give a pitch-side TV interview to former team-mate, now broadcaster, Alex Hartley during the Ashes "was an unfortunate incident that won't happen again".
That followed Hartley's comments after England bowed out of the T20 World Cup, in which she said that a handful of players were "letting the team down" with their fitness levels.
"Our players in general… embrace their media obligations," Connor said. "It matters to them to be good role models for women's cricket and the England women's cricket team. As professional women's cricket has developed at the rate that it has over recent years, that scrutiny is something that we will all have to embrace and accept."