It was an image that encapsulated the whole sorry mess of another disastrous away Ashes campaign ending in crushing defeat.
There was Joe Root, on his first tour as England captain, flat out in the Sydney dressing room after a visit to hospital to be treated for severe dehydration, diarrhoea and vomiting.
He had been left stricken and beaten into the ground along with his shell-shocked team by Australia and temperatures touching 44°C. England's attempt to explain his condition away as a bug was barely credible.
The jury has remained out on Joe Root the captain ever since the 2017-18 Ashes series
Root's men suffered a 4-0 thrashing that had played out like so many in Australia before it
So ill was Root at the end of England's last away Ashes four years ago that Jimmy Anderson had to conduct media duties at the SCG after a 4-0 thrashing that had played out like so many in Australia before it.
Only the flattest of Melbourne pitches stopped the series ending in England's third 5-0 whitewash in their last four trips to Australia.
In truth it was a tour destined to fail from the start when Ben Stokes, so crucial to England on and off the pitch, had effectively ruled himself out by getting involved in the incident in Bristol that would land him in court.
Then, sensing an area of weakness they could exploit, an Australian player helped two members of their media concoct a story towards the end of the first Test involving Jonny Bairstow and what was imaginatively described as a 'head-butt' on Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar on the first night of the tour.
He knows it is his last chance to lift the urn as skipper but his plans have not gone accordingly
The label of England as an indisciplined rabble happier with drinks in their hands than a bat or ball was set and there was little their inexperienced captain could do to stop the rot.
The jury has remained out on Root the captain — but certainly not the batsman — ever since and he approaches his third Ashes in charge knowing it must surely be his last chance to join the pantheon of England captains who have lifted the urn.
There is even an argument that, win or lose, this should be Root's last series as captain so he can spend the rest of his peak years and beyond concentrating on scoring the runs that remain integral to England's success.
Root had been so determined to ensure this Ashes tour was different. From the moment Chris Silverwood replaced Trevor Bayliss as coach after the last drawn Ashes in 2019, planning began for the first Test in Brisbane that begins at midnight on Tuesday.
England were to meet Australian fire with fire, ensuring their three
