England's T20 side have the opportunity to lift the gloom following the Ashes debacle when they start a five-match series against West Indies on Saturday.
The Test side were hammered 4-0 by Australia and only avoided a whitewash after clinging on for a draw in a rain-affected match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
As a huge inquest into that pitiful failure Down Under begun, the T20I squad was preparing to lock horns with the Windies in the Caribbean, where Paul Collingwood is standing in for Chris Silverwood as head coach.
England top the rankings, but missed out on T20 World Cup glory when they were beaten by New Zealand at the semi-final stage last November.
West Indies never looked like retaining the trophy in the United Arab Emirates, losing four and drawing one of their five matches.
Things went from bad to worse for the Windies when they were whitewashed 3-0 in Pakistan, before losing an ODI series to Ireland 2-1 on home soil.
The tourists are not at full strength so soon after the Ashes, but Eoin Morgan still has a strong squad - with a mix of new faces and experienced heads - as they build towards another T20 World Cup in Australia this year.
England have won four consecutive T20Is versus the struggling Windies, who have lost eight of their past nine matches in the shortest format ahead of the opening match of the series at Kensington Oval,
We pick out some of the standout performers who could light up the series ahead of the opener in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Living up to the hype, Roy ready to fire
England fell short in their mission to become 50-over and T20I world champions, but they were outstanding before an expensive over from Chris Jordan swung the semi-final in the Black Caps' favour.
Liam Livingstone showed his prowess with the ball in that loss to the Windies and the clean-striking all-rounder should have a huge part to play in England's bid to dethrone Australia later this year.
Livingstone can put on a show in the Caribbean and there could be fireworks from Jason Roy, who blasted 115 from only 47 balls in a warm-up game against a Barbados Cricket Association President's XI this week.
Rebuilding job for Windies
West Indies were bowled out for only 55 in their defeat to England at the T20 World Cup, with Adil Rashid taking incredible figures of 4-2.
That just about summed up their tournament and they must turn the corner under the leadership of Kieron Pollard, who retained the captaincy.
Nicholas Pooran is set to play in his 50th T20I this weekend and the vice-captain is among the experienced players Pollard will need to step up.
Buttler 'enjoyed' setting England on way to second West Indies win
Jos Buttler "enjoyed" being back out in the middle after powering England to a seven-wicket victory over West Indies in the second T20I.
The captain scored 83 off 45 balls, hitting eight fours and six sixes in his knock, as he turned the game back in England's favour, having been taken for a golden duck in his first match back from injury last time out.
West Indies struggled to gain momentum early on, with Rovman Powell's 43 settling them somewhat after a shaky start, but Saqib Mahmood (2-20), Liam Livingstone (2-16) and Dan Mousley (2-29) kept England in a good position, helping keep their target down as the hosts finished on 158-8.
The chase got off to the worst possible start though, as Phil Salt was dismissed on the first ball, but Buttler stepped in to put up a 129-run stand with Will Jacks before they were both dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the 13th over.
Livingstone (23) and Jacob Bethell (3) then helped get the tourists over the line, reaching 161 with 31 balls remaining to extend their series lead to 2-0.
Buttler was pleased to find his rhythm this time around but is already looking ahead to how they can stay in control in the third match.
"It is great to spend time in the middle. I was a bit scratchy for the first few balls, but I managed to come through that period and really enjoyed it. It was great to be back out there," Buttler told TNT Sports.
"I have lots of experience, I have played for a while and batted in lots of different positions. I am just waiting to see what happens and playing what is in front of me.
"We have got to start again [in the third T20I of the series]. We are playing a top team in the West Indies, who are excellent in T20 cricket. They will come back hard, and we have to be ready from ball one in the next game."
West Indies stumbled through the powerplay, losing their first three wickets in the first four overs for just 35 runs.
Powell was disappointed not to make a better start, pointing out that they gave themselves a mountain to climb.
"Obviously the surface gave a bit to the fast bowlers, something that is a trend here in Barbados," he said. Teams generally win the toss and bowl because of what can happen in the first six [overs].
"It's a case of us trying to come out of powerplay not three down. The statistics show that if you do that, the majority of the time you come out on the losing side. As a batting group, we have to adjust.
"Somebody in the top four or five needs to bat the majority of the overs. In the past, we have done that but have struggled to do that in this series. The next three games provide an opportunity for batters to do that."
Stubbs stars as South Africa level India series, New Zealand hit back against Sri Lanka
Tristan Stubbs' unbeaten 47 propelled South Africa to a three-wicket win over India in the second of their three T20Is.
South Africa were labouring on 66-6 but Stubbs took centre stage to inspire them to a series-levelling victory, leaving matters delicately poised ahead of the final two matches.
India were unbeaten in 11 T20Is heading into Sunday's contest at St George's Park, though a sluggish display with the bat saw them reach just 124-6 after 20 overs.
Only Tilak Varma (20), Axar Patel (27) and Hardik Pandya (39 not out) made a dent for India, as South Africa's bowlers kept things tight.
Yet the Proteas did not look set to capitalise on that good work with the ball as Varun Chakravarthy (5-17) blitzed through their top order.
Yet Stubbs offered the resistance, and a 42-run stand from 20 balls with Gerald Coetzee got South Africa over the line.
Elsewhere, New Zealand hit back to ensure they drew their two-match T20I series against Sri Lanka 1-1.
Having been well beaten in the opening match, the Black Caps won by five runs in a low-scoring encounter in Dambulla.
Lockie Ferguson took a hat-trick before he had to leave the field injured, as New Zealand successfully defended a total of 108.
Pathum Nissanka (52) plundered over half of Sri Lanka's runs as the hosts were skittled out for just 103, with New Zealand wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay making history.
Hay became the first wicketkeeper to play a part in six dismissals in a single T20I innings, surpassing the previous record of five set by Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad against Oman in 2015.
Forest taught 'a lesson' as winning run ended by Newcastle according to Nuno
Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged Nottingham Forest were taught "a lesson" by Newcastle United, even if he did not criticise his side following a 3-1 defeat at the City Ground.
Forest had won their previous three matches to climb to third in the Premier League, and Murillo's opener had them on course for another victory.
But that goal came against the run of play, and Newcastle continued to dominate, eventually equalising through Alexander Isak.
Forest, who have been so solid at the back this season, went chasing victory and were instead caught out as both Joelinton and Harvey Barnes scored on the break.
Those counter-attacks have been a large part of Forest's own attacking identity previously, and Nuno was full of praise for how ruthlessly Newcastle executed that tactic.
"I cannot say that was a bad performance, that is totally out of the question," the Forest boss told BBC Sport.
"We played against a very good team that was able to control us and then hurt us in the way we've been doing. It is a lesson for us to learn.
"I just have to recognise that today we played a good team, who were better than us in many, many moments.
"There's nothing to say about the [Forest] players. The character and belief was there."
Newcastle were a little unfortunate to trail at half-time, having had seven shots to Forest's three and 60% of the possession.
Yet Eddie Howe, the Newcastle coach, still saw plenty of room for improvement, which his side delivered on after the restart.
"It was difficult, but we knew it would be," he said. "They are a difficult team to play against because they don't concede many chances and you're left fearing the worst when you go behind.
"We had work to do at half-time, but credit to the players because the second half was up there with our best performances this season.
"Everything we didn't do in the first half, we did at the start of the second half. We were intense and direct with our attacking. We asked more questions and could have scored.
"I'm really pleased with the second half."
Newcastle have won three in a row in all competitions for the first time in over a year, helped by a return to form for their attacking stars.
Isak had netted only once this season before scoring in the past four successive matches, while Barnes again showed his quality from the bench. Six of his nine Newcastle goals have come as a substitute.
Howe added: "We need our attacking players to contribute goals, and Alex has done that in the past few weeks with massive moments, then Joelinton and Harvey Barnes pop up with moments, too.
"We know we have players who can make that difference, and I'm really pleased with that side of our game.
"Harvey Barnes did what he does. He's an outstanding player. Trying to find room for him in the team is something that I am conscious of.
"I'm really pleased he got that goal – I thought it was a fantastic finish."
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