'No pace, no spin': Ex-captains unload on Poms
A number of former England captains have slammed their side after a disastrous day at the WACA saw the Ashes urn slip further away.
Australia have one hand on the urn, with Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh breaking records and England's resolve, finishing unbeaten on career-bests of 229 and 181 respectively on Saturday.
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The hosts held a 146-run lead at stumps on day three of the third Test, having marched to 4-549 thanks to an unbeaten 301-run stand from Smith and Marsh.
England had boasted the upper hand at 4-368 in their first innings but have since spectacularly imploded. Their trip hit a new low on Saturday, when 346 runs were scored and a single wicket fell.
Former captains Michael Atherton and Michael Vaughan have reacted with disgust, slamming the current crop of players who are staring down the barrel of another 5-0 whitewash in Australia.
“It would be tempting to say that belief drained from England gradually during a thoroughly dispiriting third day in Perth when their grip on the Ashes became ever more fragile,” Atherton said on Sunday.
“That would be wrong.
“From the moment James Anderson bowled the first ball of the morning, with a solitary slip and three men patrolling the boundary, England, it appeared, were retreating meekly from the outset, allowing Steve Smith the stage.”
Atherton pointed out that the official halfway mark of the series was more like the beginning of the end for England.
“As they left the field, England’s bowlers tapped each other on the hands, in a half congratulatory way for getting through the day,” Atherton said.
“That’s about all they did. It was, technically, the halfway point of the series, but it felt like the end.”
Vaughan stepped up his criticism in a fairly scathing attack on England's bowlers.
"It is a disastrous day,” Vaughan told BT Sport.
“I think today showed we have no swing, no seam, no pace and no spin.
“England will probably have to bat four and a half sessions to try and save the Test match and keep the Ashes alive.
“It is a pitch that looks pretty good, those cracks will widen, but I do think England will need a bit of help from the Gods above, I really do.”
Smith strolled to the crease at 2-55 on Friday, then batted for almost 10 hours, enhancing his claim to being the nation's best batsman since Don Bradman.
It was the captain's highest score, surpassing the 215 he posted against the same opposition in 2015 at Lord's.
Marsh outscored Smith in their game-changing stand, bullying England's tired bowlers whenever they erred.
with AAP