By Peter Hayter PUBLISHED: 02:00 EST, 28 December 2013 | UPDATED: 15:44 EST, 28 December 2013 Of all the images England’s suffering supporters will take home from the loss of the Ashes Down Under, the sight of Ian Bell dragging himself from the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground carrying his bat upside down might just turn out to be the one that survives the longest. In the English summer series, Bell was the batting rock on which England built their 3-0 win, with 562 runs, including three hundreds at Trent Bridge, Lord’s and the Riverside: brilliant, confident and consistent performances which team-mates and opponents alike understood might have papered over a variety of cracks.
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England facing humiliating series whitewash after another batting collapse
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Alastair Cook the only batsman to pass 50, Kevin Pietersen scored 49
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Tourists lost last five wickets for just six runs in below-par total of 179
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Australia were 30-0 at stumps and need another 201 for victory on day four
Fast start: Alastair Cook wasted no time in scoring his runs when @placeholder's openers when out to bat