England stand on the brink of total Ashes embarrassment after suffering an eight-wicket defeat to Australia in the fourth Test at the MCG.
'Time for changes'
England have altered their side before each of the last three Tests in a bid to find a spark which could turn the series around, but so far the alarming slide has showed no signs of abating. Sky Sports expert
Sir Ian Botham believes further changes should be made, however, pinpointing Boyd Rankin as the man who should be brought in. England brought three towering seamers to Australia to try and exploit the extra bounce Down Under but, apart from a lacklustre appearance from Chris Tremlett in Brisbane, none of them have even been selected. "You have to do something," Botham said. "I'm not saying change the whole team but if a football manager lost four games like that being hammered, he wouldn't even have a job."
What went wrong?
The inquest goes on after yet another tame performance by England and there were
plenty of theories offered up by the Sky Sports experts after play had concluded at the MCG. Andrew Strauss, who was still captain of the side just over a year ago, thinks that the poor form of the senior batsmen is to blame. "You're not going to win a series if your big name players don't turn up and perform," he said. "They all got out of form in the English summer and they haven't found a way to turn it around." Nasser Hussain, meanwhile, thinks the departures of Jonathan Trott, Graeme Swann and Matt Prior for various reasons have left England with a dearth of experienced talent. He said: "Looking at yesterday, Cook and Pietersen were playing in a world XI and at the other end I wouldn't like to describe who was batting to be honest."
Man of the day
Chris Rogers claimed the honours on day four after his composed century laid the foundations for Australia's success. The veteran opener was handed an unexpected recall for the series in the English summer and impressed the selectors sufficiently enough to retain his place at the top order in Australia. Although his form has not quite hit the same heights as it did in England, Rogers stepped up to the plate in the fourth Test to hit a match-winning 116. With Australia closing in on victory he was able to celebrate his first Test century on home soil, a moment the 36-year-old would have been forgiven for thinking would never come.
