England savaged by press after Ashes Test defeat at Lord's
Monday 20 July 2015 10:30, UK
The national press give their reaction to England's 405-run defeat to Australia in the second Investec Ashes Test at Lord's.
It's fair to say, the British media were not impressed by Sunday's result, and did not spare England's humiliated team...
THE TIMES
Analyst Simon Hughes writes: "Lots of questions. Very few answers. That is the predicament that England are in. Three of England's top four look like sitting targets. Adam Lyth is tense and jumpy, Gary Ballance camped on the back foot and reduced to a series of nervy pokes and Ian Bell - averaging 10.63 in six Tests since Antigua - bereft of confidence."
Sky Sports' Michael Atherton writes in the newspaper: "There were clear echoes of the series 18 months ago when a rampant Australian team brushed England aside playing cricket infused with a giant streak of red-blooded machismo. Facing Mitchell Johnson, a stiff drink was certainly required."
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Geoffrey Boycott (where to start?) wrote: "Getting bowled out of this pitch in 37 overs was an embarrassment. We had no fight, our thinking was awful and we never adapted to the situation... There is no shame in losing to a better team. It is shameful to bat the way we did... Ian Bell is so talented, but he is flaky in the head... Joe Root comes in with England in trouble, hooks his fifth ball, and gets hit on the head. I thought we were trying to save the game... and the most stupid dismissal of all was Ben Stokes trying to get out of the way of being hit by the ball."
DAILY MIRROR
The back-page headline speaks for itself: "Pathetic." Inside, Dave Kidd writes: "Gutless and brainless in equal measure, England offered a white flag to the raging bulls of Australia's attack and surrendered their Ashes lead in the most feeble fashion imaginable. They may have failed to lift the ban on blood sports in Parliament last week, but nobody told the Aussies."
THE SUN
'AMATEURS' is the clever back page headline. It refers to amateur golfer Paul Dunne, who leads The Open... and of course the England cricketers. John Etheridge writes: "Gutless, dim-witted, embarrassing, shocking. This was one of England's worst batting performances in living memory... after such a massacre, it is almost impossible to believe England have a realistic chance of regaining the Ashes."
DAILY STAR
They've got a similar theme - 'AMATEUR HOUR'. Jeremy Cross writes: "Amateur Paul Dunne stunned the golf world yesterday as he took a shock third-round lead in The Open at St Andrews. And at Lord's, another bunch of amateurs were humiliated as England's cricketers crashed to a 405-run defeat against Australia in the second Ashes Test."
Inside, Adam Hathaway writes: "England legend Geoff Boycott would have killed to have five sessions to bat to save a game on a flat pitch like this but most of the English batsmen did not look like they would last five minutes."
DAILY MAIL
Paul Newman does not hold back: "This was not the display of potential Ashes winners. This was a spineless surrender by England. It was frankly pathetic... England were staggeringly weak."
DAILY EXPRESS
Chris Stocks is calling for changes. "Adam Lyth, the 666th player to represent England in Tests, is in his own version of hell against this Australian attack... England could do worse than look at Nick Compton, who, while he has not been in brilliant form for Middlesex this season, has easily the best record of the six opening partners Cook has had since (Andrew) Strauss retired. This flimsy top six though needs more than just one change and surely Jonny Bairstow has to be selected for Edgbaston."
THE GUARDIAN
Mike Selvey writes: "The only batsman making a strong case is Jonny Bairstow, who has just made yet another hundred for Yorkshire and cannot be ignored. It will require a rejigging of the order - Bell or Root to three and, probably, no Ballance."
THE INDEPENDENT
Stephen Brenkley writes: "Everything has suddenly gone wrong for England. In the space of a week they have veered from the sublime to the ridiculous. What happened yesterday was not so much a defeat as a mauling. The Nos 3 and 4, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell, both look vulnerable and one or both should go."
The Ashes - Live
Watch The Ashes live on Sky Sports on Sky Sports Ashes HD or watch with a NOW TV Sports Day Pass. Our Ashes Events Centre - the best of Sky Cricket's analysis at your fingertips - is available on our iPad app.
