"Worst in living memory" - Former players rip into England's performance
- Joe Hewlett
- 28 December 2021
“It sums up where England have been in this series. It has to be one of the worst Ashes defeats I can remember."
Careers are on the line after England's latest humiliation Down Under, according to ex-bowler Steve Harmison.
Joe Root's side collapsed yet again with the bat and were bowled out for 68 on day three of the third Test in Melbourne.
The innings-and-14 runs defeat gave Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series to retain the Ashes.
Harmison has experienced both ends of the Ashes spectrum, being part of the side which famously claimed a long-awaited series win in 2005 and also bowling the first ball of the next series at the Gabba to second slip as England went on to lose 5-0.
And he believes the current "embarrassment" could prove to be a moment of reckoning for some in the England set-up.
"There is going to be a big inquest," he told BT Sport. "There's going to be a lot of things blamed, people's careers on the line."
He added: "When you look at the history of the Ashes in Australia, the only teams that have gone over there and done anything meaningful are the teams that have got first-innings runs.
"Last night, they (Australia) bowled brilliantly but that's embarrassing, I'm sorry. No fight, there was nothing there.
"You can say Australia have bowled well, which they have done, but to lose by an innings when a team only gets 267 runs, that tells you everything about where this series has been.
"This team is a worse position than the one the white-ball team were in when they had a reset."
Harmison was also critical of the England and Wales Cricket Board's selection policy.
Speaking to TalkSport, he said: "There's no real continuity of selection so people don't know their roles in the side.
"The coaching system - there's different coaches coming in all the time. I just think sometimes they are trying to reinvent the wheel at the ECB.
"It's like we had a plan for the first Test, we had a plan for the second Test and we had a plan for the third Test, six months ago!
"So we got to Brisbane after two weeks of rain and we left Stuart Broad out and played Jack Leach. Wow! It's mind-boggling.
"And look at their selection. They've played a 32-year-old (Scott Boland) on debut who's played nearly every other game at the MCG - and he's got six for seven against our batting line-up."
🏏 “People will wake up this morning and think that heads will need to roll but it’s a lot deeper than that!”
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 28, 2021
🤦 “There’s a reset button that needs to be pressed. There is no quick fix to this!”
Steve Harmison gives his reaction to England losing the Ashes to Australia. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/iFpW1eJjW5
Worst defeat in living memory
Ex-England batter Rob Key branded this Ashes series defeat one of the worst in living memory.
Key told Sky Sports News: "It sums up where England have been in this series. It has to be one of the worst Ashes defeats I can remember.
"In years gone by when England were getting beaten by the Shane Warne team, Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting, you sort of knew. In 2003 we went there thinking we've got no chance against this lot. But these were the greatest players.
"This time you thought it will be tough for England, but they've got a chance. This Australian side is good, but it's not great.
"And yet now there are so many question marks and the whole of English cricket is going to be brought into question.
"The only positive is it's going to shake up English cricket for the better. It has to."
