Absolutely.
I was at Lords yesterday and it was an abject performance by England. Bowling was ok, fielding weak and batting was pitiful. A bunch of over-hyped flat track bullies who try to slog their way out of trouble rather than knuckling down and applying themselves. A fatal mixture of misplaced arrogance and fear. Neither the crowd nor the players had any belief that anyone other than Root could do what was needed.
But to translate that into "we've already lost the ashes" with different players and a totally different format is just plain daft.
Not exactly different players though is it.... Root, Bairstow, Butler, Stokes, Wood, Moeen, Woakes, could all expect to be playing some part in the Ashes... the batting order is a shambles, Burns has 1 century this summer, Jennings averages fewer than Steve Finn in Div 2. You can't be going with James Vince based on what we've seen thus far. Joe Denly? come on. There's nobody knocking on the door in Div 1 batting wise.
Jimmy is still a class apart, but Broad has struggled all summer, Notts bottom, Broad has 14 wickets. Sam Curran has been mostly injured.
The ECB have put all their eggs in the white ball basket in recent years, so it's where we are, but the Convicts will want this one badly, it being 18 years since they won in England.
The Convicts aren't great and if say Starc and Cummins went lame, then a chance.... but as it stands can't see it.
I've recently watched 2 games where England have been bowled out in a session V Kiwis and Windies... that's a side not taking it seriously.