The harder I tried, the worse I got: Moeen

England allrounder Moeen Ali has admitted that the harder he tried during his team's winless Ashes campaign, the less effective he seemed to become and it is only the change of formats to one-day cricket that has effectively revived his flagging spirits.

Moeen endured a torrid time throughout the five Magellan Ashes Tests, which he finished with 179 runs (at an average of 19.88 with a high-score of 40) and five wickets (at 115 runs apiece) as England surrendered the urn 4-0.

However, the switch to the 50-over game has brought not only radically changed fortunes to the tourists who lead the five-match Gillette ODI Series 3-0, it has been accompanied by a renewed zest among those players (Moeen, Joe Root and Chris Woakes) who are involved in both formats.

England are now publicly eyeing an unprecedented 5-0 whitewash of the ODI competition, and having "struggled throughout" the Ashes, the 30-year-old is revelling in the environment and the exuberance that are features of the one-day outfit under their captain Eoin Morgan.

"The Ashes was gone pretty early in the series and that was disappointing," Moeen told reporters at Adelaide Oval today on the eve of the fourth match of the Gillette Series that begins tomorrow afternoon.

"And from a personal point of view, it has been a long tour.

"I just feel than in the Test matches I struggled throughout, and almost the harder I tried the worse I got.

"The one-day stuff, the intensity is obviously there but the pressure is not as much and I think we have more of a stable team with guys who have been together for quite a long time now.

"We know exactly what we're doing, and it's a lot different to the Tests in terms of the way we play and it's amazing to be a part of."

England's resurgence as a 50-over powerhouse – they are currently ranked third in the world compared to Australia at five – can be traced back to their premature exit at the 2015 ICC World Cup, where they failed to reach the play-off rounds of a tournament ultimately won by Australia.

Under coach Trevor Bayliss (appointed later that year) and Morgan's on-field leadership, England have adopted a fearless approach with their top-order batting and enlisted a bowling attack of white-ball specialists minus veteran Test spearheads James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

As a result, a team that won just one of their 10 ODI matches against Australia up to (and including) their meeting at the MCG to begin the 2015 World Cup has since triumphed in six of their past nine clashes with their historic rivals.

In addition to the brand of cricket they are playing, a mode of all-out attack that has seen England average more per innings (271) in all ODIs since the 2015 World Cup than any other nation, Morgan's outfit has bred a culture of strong competition within the squad for places in their starting line-up.

And, according to Moeen, become a model for rival nations looking to develop a consistently successful ODI outfit and game plan ahead of the next iteration of the ICC World Cup, which will be  held in the UK at the start of the 2019 northern summer.

"It's a team that other countries almost want to emulate as much as they can, and that's something we're very proud of," Moeen said today.

"The way we play, we see that as a big thing actually.

"And to be three-nil up here, (in the Gillette Series), I think for the first time ever, is fantastic and we're really determined to win this five-nil.

"The environment is completely different from one-dayers and Test cricket.

"We've got some brilliant players who can't get into the team, and you don't want to give your spot up.

"You want to be part of this team.

"The guys who are not in the team are training so hard to try and get in, but at the moment the way we're playing everyone is doing something on the field and it's a very difficult team to get into."

2017-18 International Fixtures

Gillette ODI Series v England

Australia ODI squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Cameron White, Adam Zampa.

England ODI squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

First ODI England won by five wickets at the MCG

Second ODI England won by four wickets at the Gabba

Third ODI England won by 16 runs at the SCG

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

Australia T20 squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final TBC, Eden Park, February 21