England’s Joe Root celebrates winning the Ashes with the urn. (Reuters)

By Jason Gillespie/The Guardian

The noises coming from the England camp after their Ashes win should be encouraging for supporters because the message is not one of mission accomplished but that they are aware improvements are needed before two tough Test assignments this winter.
Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, has been very impressive during his short time in charge and was spot on in saying that the victory must not paper over cracks in the team. He knows there is a lot of work to be done with a developing side and will now look at ways to address the shortcomings. Victory over Australia is a very handy starting point.
Trevor arrived in the country the day before the squad flew to Spain for their training camp at the end of June and is still learning about English cricket. We have spoken on the phone about some of the players at Yorkshire and I know he will be contacting other coaches, directors of cricket, umpires and people in the coming weeks and months.
His assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, is another key man in this respect. They have an excellent rapport and Farby, who helped lay the foundations for the England team before Trevor arrived, is an excellent judge of a player, too.
Neither is the type to rest on his laurels and they should still be encouraging a positive mind-set with the bat, even after an up-and-down showing in the 3-2 win.
Joe Root, named man of the series for England, epitomises this positive approach and is one of the reasons why I believe the future looks bright. And just to stress this point again, being positive and aggressive is not about trying to smash every ball to the boundary; you can still show this intent when leaving.
Ricky Ponting was a player who did this. He would still make a pronounced movement when not offering a shot, meaning the ball went past on his terms. Leave with your feet stuck in cement and it betrays indecision, which the bowler will pick up on. Joe is cut from the same cloth as Ponting in that he makes good decisions and movements at the crease.
England’s batting is a concern for some but for me the talent is there, they just need to look at how Rooty has gone about his business as a how-to guide.
First up, before South Africa, is Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, which despite being a neutral venue has become something of a stronghold for Misbah-ul-Haq’s side, with eight wins from their last 13 Tests there. England went there in 2012 as the world’s No1 side and lost 3-0 but this year they must keep an open mind about what they can achieve.
Spin will play a big part and Adil Rashid, who has been taken on tours and followed the team around all summer, is at the stage where he needs to play for England to find out about him in Test cricket. And the sooner the better for me. Give him these three Tests – six innings with the ball on surfaces that will suit him – and they will have their answer.
One idea floated has been for Moeen Ali to open the batting to help slot Rash in. This could work but there are other ways, too. Moeen could move up the order to replace Ian Bell or Jos Buttler could step aside to give Jonny Bairstow the gloves. But I get the feeling Buttler has become an important voice in the dressing room and England like what he is about.
Bell has made some noises about considering his Test future and, like Michael Clarke, only he will truly know the answer to the question of whether he is hungry enough to continue.
I always think that, if you are thinking about retiring, you have probably decided already. But maybe this was just weary talk at the end of a tough series.
On Adam Lyth, I am personally gutted he has not been able to show how good a player he is. He knows the numbers don’t stack up and it is down to the selectors now to make their call. If they go for change, I believe they should look at a right-handed option at the top alongside Alastair Cook in the UAE.
With all due to respect to Cook – a fine player who, with Kumar Sangakkara now retired, is the leading active run-scorer in Test cricket – spin is not his strongest suit. He has a cut shot, drives the genuine half-volley or tucks one off the hips, but he does not leave his crease much. And so a right-hander who plays with positive intent could complement Cook rather than another leftie. Alex Hales, whom many are suggesting, would go well.
It has been noted that Gary Ballance has batted at No5 for Yorkshire since he was left out by England but that is actually due to the make-up of our own side and he could yet move up for us if we need him to. My feeling, though – and this is not based on anything I have been told – is that the best way back into the England side for Gaz is in the middle order.
So, if Bell does decide to retire, the long-term solution could be to deploy a Yorkshire middle order with Root moving up again to No3, followed by Balance and Bairstow. Balance has certainly not played his last Test match, though; it is not a case of if he returns but when.
The third spinner in the touring party for UAE tour is a tricky one – there is not a great number of them around in county cricket at the moment and those who are Test-ready are at the older end of the spectrum, like Gareth Batty at Surrey or James Tredwell at Kent. Both would do a job but I am a big fan of Scott Borthwick of Durham, too.
*The writer is a former Australia fast bowler and current Yorkshire coach