Australia has dominated on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test to defeat England by an innings and 14 runs, retaining the Ashes urn in the process.
After the hosts took six wickets within an hour and a half to secure the third Test match before lunch, former England captain Michael Vaughan expressed his mortification at the tourist’s dismal performance.
“It’s been 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, not been able to manage playing against this powerhouse of a team,” Vaughan said on Fox Cricket.
FULL RECAP: Re-live the third Ashes Test in our play-by-play blog here
“The juggernaut started in Brisbane and they’ve just not been able to stop the Australian juggernaut.
“Australia with all of the depth that they’ve got [and] the Ashes in England in 2023, England… they’ve got some big problems.”
Asked about what the reaction would be back in Britain, Vaughan said supporters would be disappointed after England lost their third straight Test match on Australian soil.
“To think that the England fans would have stayed up to watch the first hour, I think they’ll be putting their head on the pillow very, very [disappointed],” he said.
“They’ve been disappointed with the England side all tour, you know it’s not easy in these times – the England side not a great deal of preparation, but if you want to look for excuses you can.
“You can always find an excuse, this Test match team has for quite a while not been good enough, has not focused enough on the Test match team.
“The focus has been a lot more on the white-ball team and it delivered a World Cup, but we’re not a good enough cricket nation to take our eye off the Test cricket, we can’t just arrive and play. Tinkering with selection throughout 2021 has just not been good enough.
“But Australia, exceptional. A real high-class group of players.
“I would say with the group that I’m seeing, and the way that they’re playing, if they don’t beat England in these conditions in 2023, I’d be amazed.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!