Whitewashed

Whitewashed. Outplayed. Even the greatest of spin doctors would have a hard time giving this Down Under Ashes series a positive spin for England.

Australia truly crushed the visitors as England folded within three days in the final test to win the series 5-0 and take back the urn on home soil.

Ex-England batsman Geoffrey Boycott didn't mince his words when he spoke out about England's performance in the final test. "It's pathetic - there is no other word. It's humiliation. England have just disintegrated. How do you get bowled over in 32 overs? It's bad enough to lose, but its how you lose. This is a worse loss than when we lost 5-0 (in 2006-07) because they had great players like McGrath, Warne and Gilchrist last time."

England didn't last 3 hours at the crease in Sydney, Michael Clarke's men bowling Alastair Cook's out for a pathetic 166. A total nowhere near the required 448 to win.

So what went wrong? And can we do what we did after the 2006-07 series and bring the Ashes home once again?

Credit where credit is due...

Australia came out from day one with a ferocity that was severely lacking from their dismal summer performance.

One player of particular note in the Aussie side was Man of the Series left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson. He took 37 wickets this series, a far cry from the bowler the British press loved to deride in 2009-11.

The only stand-out performance from the England camp I would consider is Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes. Although arguably wasted - his six wicket-haul in the first innings, averaging almost 40 in the two innings batting and taking a further two key wickets: danger-men Smith and Johnson - Stokes shows great promise for the future. The youngster has already had comparisons drawn to him and the great Freddie Flintoff. No pressure!

What's left to say?
...Better luck next time boys?


Ball on Willow.