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'Embarrassing. Staggering': Legends and former cricketers react to England's humiliating Ashes defeat to Australia
As Australia annihilated England by an innings and 14 runs, several legends and former cricketers from weighed in on England's shambolic show.
England slumped to one of their most humiliating defeats, getting bundled out for 68 as Australia crushed them to retain the Ashes. Scott Boland picked up a five-wicket-haul on debut and finished with incredible figures of 6/7 as Australia registered a win by an innings and 14 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to take an unassailable 3-0 lead and make sure the Ashes urn stayed with them. With a third straight loss, Joe Root's England have nothing but pride to play for in the remaining two matches in Sydney and Hobart.
Following the result, several legends and former cricketers from Australia and England weighed in on England's shambolic show. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, reflecting at the series defeat, feels England had got their selection all wrong in the first Test in Brisbane and could never find a way back out of the rut.
"This goes back to their preparation for Brisbane. They have outthought themselves. With their selection for Brisbane, and then looking forward to Adelaide and then MCG... pick your best team from the start and see how far that group can take you," Ponting said on 7 Cricket.
"I mean, the fact that Anderson and Broad didn't play in Brisbane was staggering. The fact that Joe Root didn't bowl first in Brisbane was staggering. Mark Wood not playing in Adelaide was staggering. All their planning, and thought, and structures have just been completely wrong and it's come back to bite them."
The legendary Ian Botham feels it is about time England get the 'right players' on board and said that he saw no logic in some of the decisions taken by ECB and the management.
"I don't know if they will but I would want them to. They have got to stop and think about this. The top of the order is a major worry. They have tried 2 combinations and it just hasn't worked. Alex Lees was over here with the Lions, scored a good hundred in trying conditions and he went home," Botham said on 7 Cricket.
"Explain the logic to me of having the Lions here in the first place to back up the first team and send them home. I don't get that. There is enough time between now and the Sydney Test to get someone like Alex Lees in. We've got to get some players... we need some pace."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan called England's performance embarrassing and reckons the team just could not lift themselves from the defeat in the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.
"England - they've got some big problems. That was embarrassing. They're a group of players that pride themselves on competing and they've just not managed to find any kind of consistency or skill. They've not been able to manage this powerhouse of a team. The juggernaut started in Brisbane and they've not been able to stop the Australian juggernaut."
