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The British press on Friday were fearful of the first Ashes whitewash in 85 years after England crashed to defeat in the fourth Test in Melbourne, with one newspaper saying “only a miracle” could save the tourists from suffering a clean sweep.

Britain’s press held nothing back in their criticism of England’s effort, with many papers expecting next week’s Test in Sydney to be Andrew Flintoff’s last as England captain. The Times led the way, its match report reading: “Of all the matches that have dashed expectations, all the one-sided Australia triumphs, all the humiliations inflicted upon imploding England teams, the game that ended two days prematurely in an innings victory for Australia … ranks high.”

“To the justified anger of the more discerning of those who have paid thousands of pounds to come to the other end of the world to support them in the hope of something less abject than this, England were bowled out cheaply for the second time in three days,” it added.

The Sun tabloid, Britain’s best-read daily, meanwhile was similarly downcast, declaring that “England have descended into a team devoid of fight and bottle” and dubbed the series the “Thrashes”.

“Flintoff’s flops are now so lacking in heart they have virtually no hope of avoiding a 5-0 Ashes whitewash … only a miracle can prevent the Aussies securing their first 5-0 Ashes rout for 85 years,” it added.

The Daily Mirror continued with the theme, deciding that the Ashes were in fact an acronym for “Atrocious Shameful Horrific England Surrender” — its match report headline. The Guardian, meanwhile, focused on Flintoff and the impact the tour would have on his prospects as England’s captain, writing: “England’s disastrous Ashes campaign has left Andrew Flintoff close to exhaustion.”

The possibility of a series whitewash, for the Independent, raised the question, “Did what happened in 2005 really take place? “Of the four defeats suffered by England on their ill-fated tour of Australia, this was the most disheartening,” its match report read. “There were no exceptional performances, only muddled thinking and inadequacy,” it added.

Source:The News