Following England's devastating 405 run defeat to Australia at Lord's, in the second Test of this summer's Ashes series, there have been calls to re-consider batsmen Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell's positions in the team.

However, Sportsmail columnist Brendon McCullum believes England's batting quality is undeniable and that any rearranging of the top order could be detrimental to the team.

Ahead of the much-anticipated third Test at Edgbaston on July 29, New Zealand captain McCullum gives his insights into what should be changed, and what we can expect.

DOUBLE-TON SMITH SPELLS TROUBLE

After Cardiff I felt the Australians always had enough match-winning quality to hit back.

Even so, that was some victory at Lord's. England will be feeling sore and they'll have to react quickly.

Despite the usual search for scapegoats, it shouldn't all be doom and gloom.

The series is all square at 1-1, and if the Edgbaston pitch offers England a bit of lateral movement, they can still trouble the Aussies.

But you have to take your hat off to Australia.

That was a good toss to win, but Chris Rogers and Steve Smith set the game up beautifully, and Smith in particular showed what strides he has made over the past couple of years.

Even from one Test to the next, he was able to adapt, showing tremendous patience outside off stump.

He's one hell of a player, and now he's got a big score under his belt he could make England's life difficult for the rest of the series.

For England, it's a question of persisting with the patience game — and hoping for a pitch that helps them.

At Lord's Steve Smith showed the mammoth strides he has made over the past couple of years

LET'S HAVE SIDEWAYS MOVEMENT, PLEASE

I didn't have a problem with the slowness of the Lord's pitch because I can understand why England would want to take the pace out of the surfaces in this series.

It was the lack of sideways movement that really did for them.

That means the Australia bowlers, who are a bit faster through the air, are more menacing than England's, and it means their batsmen feel more at home.

Lord's suited the Aussies down to the ground.

I've played a bit this season with New Zealand and the Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston, the venue for next week's third Test.

The pitches here can either be belters, like we saw for the one-dayer when England scored more than 400, or they can leave a bit of grass on.

I still think England are in with a shout if Jimmy Anderson is on top of his game.

But they could do with a bit of nibble in the pitch.

If Jimmy Anderson plays at his highest level England could play their way back into the series at Edgbaston

IT'S TIME TO MOVE ROOT UP THE ORDER

I know I've said this before, but it's worth repeating: England need Joe Root to move up to No 3.

At the moment he's walking to the wicket in a crisis each time.

At Cardiff he was able to save his side.

But he can't do it repeatedly — and England's slump to 30 for four on the second evening at Lord's, with Root getting out to Mitchell Johnson, was ultimately what cost them the game.

Move him up to three, and he has a chance to impose himself on proceedings.

It means he's not always fire-fighting and can shape an innings, like Smith did with his 215.

Smith laid the foundations for Australia's win. Root needs to be given a chance to do the same for England.

England need their star batsman Joe Root, who saved his side in Cardiff, to move up the order to No 3

BALLANCE AND EQUILIBRIUM

I'm hearing a lot of rubbish about how England need to make changes to their top order for Edgbaston, and Gary Ballance seems to be getting it in the neck.

I'd keep him in the side, but move him to No 5 — a straight swap with Root.

To me, Ballance looks like a guy who's trying desperately to be a No 3.

It's a tough role and I wonder if it comes naturally to him, especially as he's used to batting two places lower with Yorkshire.

People are wondering about his technique, and it's true the way he stays deep in the crease is very pronounced.

But quirky techniques do succeed at Test level — look at Shiv Chanderpaul with West Indies.

Ballance's stats are still very good.

I think he'll be fine.

He just needs to be able to play his natural game lower down the order.

Much-maligned Gary Ballance needs to be moved to No 5 so that his natural game can come through

GIVE LYTH A CHANCE TO FIND HIS FEET

I was impressed with Adam Lyth when he made a century against us at Headingley and it's way too early to be talking about a change at the top of the order.

He'll have been disappointed with his shot in the first innings at Lord's, but that can happen when you've been standing in the field for nearly two days.

He's also received a couple of good balls, and he just needs a start.

Once he's in, he'll need to decide whether to stick or twist — whether to go for his shots or not.

But he looks a good player to me, and I'll reserve judgment until he gets going properly.

It's too early to remove Adam Lyth from England's top order; the Yorkshire batsman just needs a start

BELL MUST NOT TOLL FOR IAN

Ian Bell has always had a great technique, but right now he looks as if he's searching a bit for his runs.

It's strange, because I thought he'd turned a corner with his second-innings 60 at Cardiff.

But if Root and Ballance swap places, Bell would have the buffer of Root in front of him, rather than having to go in in the middle of a crisis.

He's a bit of a confidence player, which is interesting for a guy who's played so many Tests, and you feel he needs to be made comfortable by Alastair Cook and Trevor Bayliss, which is something they'll do well.

One thing is clear: you don't throw away a guy with 22 Test hundreds and 112 caps in the middle of a hard-fought Ashes series, especially when the line-up around you is inexperienced.

I have no doubt Bell will come good.

You cannot throw Ian Bell away midway through an Ashes series given that he has so much experience

ONE COVER DRIVE AND JOS WILL BE FINE

The New Zealand team are well aware of what Jos Buttler can do to a bowling attack, but right now he seems to be striving to play in a way that doesn't come naturally to him.

He looks a bit out of sorts.

He's way better than 58 runs in four innings.

He just needs to go out there and play.

One cover drive and I reckon he'll be back in form.

Out of sorts Jos Buttler just needs time at the crease to play and is one cover drive away from finding form

AND FINALLY... DON'T PANIC!

England shouldn't panic.

They're a good side who came up against an outstanding Australia team with a point to prove.

Other than that tweak to the batting order, I'd make only one change.

Mark Wood looks like the kind of bowler who needs a break from time to time.

I'd bring in Steven Finn at Edgbaston and then Wood can return refreshed later in the series.

I'm still tipping the series to finish 2-1, one way or the other.

Now England just need to find a way of putting Lord's behind them.

Some cricketers like to beat themselves up.

Others pretend it never happened.

England will need each player to find his own way of moving on and starting afresh.