A host of cricket greats criticise England's batsmen - and praise Australia's bowlers - after the hosts posted their lowest Ashes total since 1948
'Absolutely pathetic': Six ex-captains slam England
With England’s hopes of regaining the Ashes urn slipping away, a host of former greats have blasted the current playing group for their 28-over collapse against Australia at Headingley.
England’s total of 67 all out on Friday, their fourth sub-100 score in 18 months, has led to a fierce reaction from the local media, including a host of greats of the English game.
From the state of the County Championship to the attacking mindset of the English batsmen, six former skippers have dissected the day’s events and tried to put their finger on the cause of the problem.
Michael Atherton
"Maybe it is a lack of confidence in their defence, maybe a lack of judgment about what to play, or maybe an inability to adapt, or stubbornness about the need to adapt, maybe even a lack of knowledge about how to play here — maybe a combination of all these shortcomings — but the simple fact is that when the ball moves, this England line-up has been found wanting time and again.
"The excellence of Australia’s bowlers could only be admired: they were sharp, predatory, relentless. Still, this was as shoddy a batting display as you could wish to see. There is another saying in these parts that invokes a higher authority: He helps those who help themselves. Not for the first time, England’s batsmen let the side down.
"With a duck in front of his home crowd, and the Ashes fading from sight, this was as bad a day as (Joe) Root has endured."
Bob Willis
"That was abject, absolutely pathetic. Apart from Joe Root and Ben Stokes, these guys cannot bat. It’s as simple as that. This was totally unacceptable.
"England can't play Test cricket at the moment and the Ashes are gone.
"If the penny hasn't yet dropped with England's cricket administrators about the programme of four-day cricket, (it needs to). If they want to keep Test cricket alive they are going to have to do something about it and pretty damn quick, because this was totally unacceptable.
"The cricket-watching public want England to win the Ashes. Winning the World Cup was fantastic, a real shot in the arm, but the real fans want England to play Test cricket at the highest level."
Geoffrey Boycott
"What the hell is going on with this England team? How do you expect to win the Ashes with that sort of batting?
"Everybody knows that when the sun shines at Headingley, the pitch is better for batting. Our batsmen should have been licking their chops, thinking there would still be a little in the pitch in the morning session while the ball is new.
"If England had batted all day they would have a lead of 100. So, what did England do? They batted without any brains and threw away the Ashes."
Michael Vaughan
"It was almost unfair what Australia had to bat in yesterday compared to what England were going to have to bat in on day two.
"(Marnus Labuschagne) scored a few ugly runs, but I haven’t seen that from the England team. I haven’t seen it for four years.
"They don’t look to me like they’re willing to put the hard work in (in the middle).
"Every time this England batting line-up has been put under pressure ... they don’t get bowled out, they get blown away.
"With that talent in that dressing-room, I’m sorry but it’s just not good enough.
"It’s the pressure card — they just can’t cope with it."
Nasser Hussain
"Is it the obsession with white-ball cricket? Is it that techniques are being diminished by the modern game? Is it because, as Sir Alastair Cook says, the ball is doing more in English conditions now than he can ever remember?
"England desperately need to find the answer because what we saw on Friday was an accident waiting to happen.
"To carry out a technical analysis for Sky on the way England collapsed on Friday was to highlight the real concerns we must have about the way our red-ball game is going.
"We have to look at our domestic structure and the fact modern players do not get the time to work on their red-ball game.
"When did (Jason) Roy last play a first-class match for Surrey? You have to go back to last season.
"Then you have to consider tired minds after the World Cup and the lack of preparation time for this year's Tests. It's a deadly combination.
"So, do not expect a miracle cure. There is no guarantee Dom Sibley or Zak Crawley — two of the coming men from the Championship — could do any better."
Sir Alastair Cook
"Australia bowled fantastically well today. They got it absolutely right, helped by some soft shots from England.
"I haven’t felt quite so dejected in terms of the optimism I had when I walked into the ground today. When I opened the curtains this morning and saw the sun out, I thought it would be a good day for batting.
"But Australia didn’t let them get through their first spells and now they’re in a great position."
2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England
Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.
First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston
Second Test: Match drawn at Lord's
Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley
Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31
Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford
Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval