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England greats lament ‘gutless’ collapse

England captain Joe Root ducks under a bouncer on day three of the Hobart Test.

England captain Joe Root ducks under a bouncer on day three of the Hobart Test. Photo: AAP

Alastair Cook believes England hit “rock bottom” in Hobart, while Ian Botham has lamented the “embarrassing” and “gutless” collapse that handed Australia a comprehensive 4-0 Ashes series win.

Abject England lost 10 wickets for 56 runs in 22.5 overs, falling to pieces after reaching 0-68.

“I actually can’t believe – an hour and a half to lose 10 wickets – that’s the biggest shock as a batter and a professional who plays cricket,” former skipper Cook said on BT Sport.

“You get bowled out in a session once or twice in a career.

“After a couple of wickets, we said ‘something is on here’ and you see a batting line-up devoid of all confidence.

“Once they lose one or two, no one steps up and stops the slide.”

On the Seven Network, Botham fumed.

“It’s been embarrassing .. gutless,” he said.

“The way that they performed today will have disappointed me and disappointed everyone back home.

“They should be disappointed in that dressing room.

“The one thing we have to do now is take our heads out of the sand and we need to pull together and prioritise red-ball cricket.

“Because if we’re not careful, the Eskimos will be beating us.”

England had battled gamely to eke out a draw in the fourth Test in Sydney but in Hobart it folded once again.

“That was very tough viewing, that has to be our rock bottom, there cannot be a worse a place than getting bowled out in a hour and a half,” Cook said.

-AAP

Topics: Ashes
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