The visitors are expected to hand Test debuts to Gary Ballance, Scott Borthwick and Boyd Rankin and Jonny Bairstow is set to remain behind the stumps despite Michael Clarke's belief Matt Prior would be given a recall.

Not since the third Test of the 1993 series, when four were blooded, has England introduced so many players in an Ashes Test.

As a seasoned international, Cook knows a captain will be judged solely by results - he said exactly that at the start of the tour - but whereas the scoreline was once a strong defence to criticism of his captaincy, it is now being construed as evidence of his shortcomings.

One loss away from becoming only the third captain in Ashes history to lead his team to a 5-0 whitewash, Cook has acknowledged England's anguish this tour has forced introspection.

More will be done once the series is officially over but Cook has acknowledged mistakes have been made. He has even conceded Shane Warne, the most vocal critic of the England captain's defensive style, might be right with aspects of his critique. But do not expect him to transform into an audacious and impulsive risk-taker overnight, if at all. ''I have to be the man I have to be, that is true to me,'' Cook said. ''I can't change because Shane Warne says I need to change totally.

''I can certainly look at the stuff he says and he might have a point on some of it. But if I listen to every single person then your whole mind gets muddled anyway. You've got to be true to yourself. I have to do it the way I think is best for me and this England side.''

Losing, however, was largely an alien concept for captain Cook when he arrived on these shores in October. He was unbeaten, with four wins in his five series in charge but, unfortunately for the 29-year-old, it is now proving the norm rather than the exception.

Calls for his sacking have been predictable though there are few, if any, viable alternatives for England's selectors. Losing hurt, Cook said, and it was difficult not to be affected by the intense scrutiny on such a big tour.

''You know all the criticism when you lose is exaggerated and it's always hyperbole when you win because that's the way the media work,'' Cook said. ''It's something I've been used to in my career so far and it'll happen to every kind of guy who plays a lot of Test cricket.

''For me to say I'm 100 per cent right would be wrong but I am proud of the way I've handled myself this series. But I do know I've got a helluva lot to learn as a player and a captain.''

Cook's output with the bat has also plummeted this series, his average of 29 well down from the halcyon days of 2010-11 when he was nigh on immoveable for a near identical Australian attack. But Cook said he remains committed to his job. ''I do want to continue, I love doing the job. I like the challenges it presents me and it's a real test of who you are as a person,'' Cook said. ''It's not all doom and gloom. When you lose you start stripping back everything. You start looking at everything which has gone wrong.

''In one way, sometimes you have to go through that to see where you are as a side, as a team, as a person individually. There's a helluva lot of thinking and action to do after this Test match.''