6 Jan 2014

Botham says England "spineless"

9:26 am on 6 January 2014

England's Ashes whitewash has triggered a scathing attack from former players with Ian Botham lashing out at the team's "spineless" display in Australia.

On yesterday's third day of the fifth test in Sydney the England cricketers were bowled out for 166 inside 35 overs, chasing an improbable 448 for victory, handing Australia a 281 run win.

Bothan says he's depressed and embarrased by the Ashes result.

The former captain says if it had been a boxing match it would have been stopped weeks ago.

Fellow former skipper Michael Vaughan echoed his sentiment, saying the senior players had let the team down. and the effort in Sydney was pathetic.

Former opener Geoff Boycott also used the adjective pathetic and described it as a humiliation.