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\nEngland captain Ben Stokes is under the spotlight, after England’s batters failed to bide their time in the opening Ashes test.
\nPhoto: AAP \/ Photosport\n<\/p>\n
A chorus of former England cricket stars have torn into the current ‘Bazball’ side, after the team suffered an embarrassing Ashes test defeat in Perth inside just two days.<\/p>\n
Long-time commentator and former test opener Geoffrey Boycott has unleashed a scathing column in the The Telegraph, declaring he could no longer take the team seriously, after Australia won by eight wickets.<\/p>\n
He labelled the Ben Stokes-led and Brendon McCullum-coached side “stupid”, and dismissed their batting as utterly “brainless”.<\/p>\n
England was on top for most of the first four sessions, but lost control with a batting collapse after lunch on day two.<\/p>\n
“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble,” Boycott said.<\/p>\n
Ex-captain Michael Vaughan, who captained the side in the 2000s, didn’t hold back either.<\/p>\n
He accused England of repeating the very mistakes that haunted them in the last Ashes series two year ago.<\/p>\n
Now part of Australia’s Fox Cricket commentary team, alongside Australian counterparts Mark Waugh, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist, Vaughan was quick to underline the gravity of the defeat.<\/p>\n
“It disappoints me hugely,” Vaughan told Fox Sports.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been saying we want Bazball with brains, but the brains haven’t arrived,” he told the BBC.<\/p>\n
Recent former England pace-bowler Stuart Broad’s internal agony in the Channel 7 commentary box went viral, after ex-skipper Joe Root became the third England batter to fall in just six deliveries on day two.<\/p>\n
Arms tightly crossed and eyes squeezed shut, Broad pinched his nose and drew a long, pained breath, as Mitchell Starc claimed another wicket.<\/p>\n
The moment prompted co-commentator and former Australian test batter Matthew Hayden to cheekily remind Broad to “stay in the commentary box”.<\/p>\n
England allrounder and legend Sir Ian Botham weighed in before the series.<\/p>\n
The former captain told Reuters he was unimpressed with the England’s preparations, which included whiteball cricket in New Zealand, arguing touring sides traditionally needed time to acclimatise to Australian conditions.<\/p>\n
“It’s not the way I would prepare,” Botham told reporters in Australia. “The ball does seems to get to you quicker [in Perth] and the light’s different.<\/p>\n
“You’ve got the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ – there’s all kinds of things go into the melting pot.”<\/p>\n
Stokes, McCullum and the England players will have a chance to prove the critics wrong in the second test, which begins on 4 December at Brisbane’s Gabba.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Stokes reacted to the defeat, admitting he was “a little bit shellshocked”, after Australian hero Travis Head wrestled Australia out of a tough spot to claim victory.<\/p>\n