Outplayed, outfought and out of options. England are facing an Ashes whitewash after Australia regained the urn with a dominant victory in Perth.
After losing by an innings and 41 runs in Perth, captain Joe Root admitted England had been beaten by the better side.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Speaking to BT Sport, Root said: “It’s very difficult to take. Fair play to Australia, they’ve outplayed us in all three games and we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to make sure we go to Melbourne and prepare well and put in really good performances there.”
Meanwhile, Australia skipper Steve Smith was full of praise for his three fast bowlers - Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood - and for spinner Nathan Lyon.
Smith, who scored 239 in Australia’s innings, said: “We know how much it means to everyone in Australia. To wrap it up in three matches has been exceptional.
“The three fast bowlers are absolute superstars. To have those three guys on the park at the same time has taken a lot of planning. Nathan Lyon also is bowling as well as I’ve seen him.
“We’ve had ups and downs. The selectors copped a lot over a period of time for making bold changes but each guy has come in and done a terrific job.”
Writing in The Times, chief cricket correspondent Mike Atherton says that “a lack of fast bowlers, a run-scoring captain and mental strength” contributed to England’s heavy defeats in the opening three Ashes Tests.
In The Guardian, Vic Marks concludes: “England have been thoroughly outgunned by a superior team, whose best players - Smith and the bowlers - were at the peak of their game when it mattered.”
So what next for England, their players and the coaching set-up? At 3-0 down, the whitewash is on and history does not favour Root’s side, warns Simon Wilde in The Times.
“When England lose an Ashes series as comprehensively as they have this one, questions are inevitably going to be asked about what happens next,” says Wilde.
“The situation may be changed by what occurs in the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, but it would be reasonable to assume that the narrative is not about to radically alter course. The series could yet end in a 5-0 whitewash. There will be a fallout.”
While Root’s role as captain is unlikely to be challenged, even if his side do fail to win a single Test, there will be question marks over the futures of underperfoming senior players such as Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad.
Wilde adds: “Cook is not the type to rush into a decision, but it may well be that his race is run. Broad won’t want to quit but he needs to demonstrate he still has something to offer, as other bowlers need blooding.”
England head coach Trevor Bayliss will also be feeling the pressure of a heavy Ashes series defeat, says Wilde. Even though he is a specialist with the white ball Bayliss has shown “little progress” in the Test arena, so there could be changes in the coaching department.
Following Australia’s win in the Perth Test, we look at how the media and fans reacted on Twitter.
Celebration time for Australia.
Australia were “too good”, says Michael Vaughan.
Cook’s form is scrutinised.
Crying into their cuppas.
Fans have their say on BBC Radio 5 live.
The urn returns.
More misery for England down under.
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
How should the cricketing world handle Afghanistan?Talking Point England under pressure to boycott upcoming men's match against the nation, which remains an ICC member despite Taliban ban on women's team
-
Graham Thorpe obituary: 'chameleon' batsman with 100 England capsIn depth Cricketer's 'bottle in abundance' endeared him to fans
-
The Ashes: can England mount a glorious comeback?feature ‘Herculean’ task follows ugly scenes at controversial second test
-
English cricket is ‘racist, sexist and elitist’, says independent reportSpeed Read Chair of governing body apologises after crushing indictment of the sport ‘at all levels’
-
England are the ‘undisputed kings’ of white-ball cricketfeature Ben Stokes scored the winning run as England beat Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final
-
Ben Stokes and England set up a ‘grand finale’ against South Africafeature In an old-school Test victory at Old Trafford, England’s captain scored a century and took four crucial wickets
-
‘Alarm bells’ for authorities: is there too much cricket being played?Talking Point Ben Stokes quitting one-day internationals has sparked a debate over the packed schedule
-
‘Bazball’: England cricket’s glorious new lookIn the Spotlight A staggering turnaround has taken place under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes
