There's nothing wrong with his action but he's done nothing for years before this winter and certainly not in this country where he's regarded as a joke. Morkel and Steyn are probably still the world's best fast bowlers and have done it consistently for years. Flower has done well which I've acknowledged but England haven't looked "right" for a while and this tour has been a disaster from the beginning when England looked under-prepared and disinterested from the start. All that is down to Flower. I don't want Giles either - I would rather see an outsider come in and shake up the whole setup.

England have suffered an epic failure this winter so it's only right that heads have rolled. The previous regime had done well but something has obviously been seriously amiss because England have not played well for some time - certainly not last summer despite the 3-0 win. Looking at it from the outside I would say there seems to have been a power battle behind the scenes with Cook has emerging as the winner. The comparison with Allardyce etc doesn't make any sense to me - the circumstances are totally different.

The quality of banter and chants at football has become worse over the years, and much of it is now decidedly crude and sometimes plain embarrassing. I suspect social forces are at work here - much of the humour in the old days came from the factory floor and production lines and of course our manufacturing capacity has been decimated over the past 30 years.

I'm pleased Flower has gone but why they have retained him in another capacity and why he would want to stay is a mystery. Ashley Giles is favourite apparently to replace Flower but I would suggest he is too close to the present squad and the ECB should look to someone from outside the camp, perhaps from overseas. The whole organisation needs a good shake-up.

Hello everyone Recently moved back here after many years away and would like to hear from anyone who lives in the area or regulars at the Bonny Inn! Supported Rovers since the age of 7 and clocked up my half century of watching the famous blue and white halves last year. Wilpshire Blue

You're English. Loyalty and you are distant cousins. There's nothing worse in my book. Support Australia at anything you want but never against England. As I say, contemptible. Oh and FYI Murdoch was a great supporter of Tony Blair. He bends with the national political wind and switches his politics for commercial expediency. No doubt he'll be backing Ukip at the next election.

Would agree with that. Would also explain their chip on the shoulder. This is a wonderful country and if you open your eyes and look at the opportunities on offer. . Punishment for me has been England's performances which I've acknowledged have been pathetic. I still cannot understand why the ECB is apparently going to stick with Flower. Something is seriously amiss in the dressing room (and has been for some time) and these problems usually stem from the top.

Dear Lord H-H, As an Englishman why would you be celebrating this ? Also look at your pathetic signature. You're like a Rover supporter who switches sides to Burnley and then comes on here to crow about it. Contemptible.

Loved playing it but I'm not a great watcher because the basic errors of many players annoys me. England have been a case in point this winter - some of the bits I've seen wouldn't be tolerated in club cricket. Cricket's also a bit like golf - a wonderful game when you're playing well and in form but frustrating and deeply depressing when you cannot do a thing right. Cook probably feels like that at the moment.

It's been going on for alot longer than that. Blackburn boulevard in the 1960s was packed with fans in red and white scarves waiting for buses for Manchester. I hate disloyalty to town, club and country. Made my blood boil then and still does now.

Living down there in that climate would drive anyone to the brink... Anyhoo, back to the cricket. At least England's women are holding their ends up, so to speak.

This is like blaming the unions and the workers for the demise of manufacturing when the real culprits were the incompetent and confrontational buffoons in the boardroom who were unable and unwilling to manage labour relations properly. The failure of any enterprise in business or sport stems from the top and Flower and his assistants have been found wanting.

Pietersen's the best batsman in the side and is still a significant asset if he is properly handled. Flower was in charge of this debacle and should be the one to depart.

Just to remind ourselves that this is an Englishman posting here. "Sledging" is an Australian word in the cricketing context as far as I know, because they invented it and have perfected it. My view on "sledging" or abuse is fine along as it's witty and amusing. Most of the time it's just puerile.

Haddin appealed for a non-existent snick off Root in the previous Test that was given out and then gave Root dog's abuse when it was quite rightly overturned on appeal. One of many examples of his behaviour. He's not competitive - he's a cheat and a scumbag.

The England players have let themselves and the country down. Good players do not become bad players to that extent overnight, and something is seriously amiss. To my eyes they looked in the wrong frame of mind from the start. Questions have to be asked over how they prepared for this tour in the 3 or 4 months from the end of last season. What were the coaches doing, and how did they get is so wrong ? Was it complacency, did they work hard enough ? Failure in sport is no different to any other walk of life and starts at the top. Flower and Cook must account to the ECB for their actions and justify their continued employment in their respective jobs. In football they would have been given the boot some time ago. On a positive note I am pleased with how England have conducted themselves on this tour. In contrast to the feral opposition, England have been competitive without being over-aggressive. I would never want England to sink to the depths of childish and pathetic behaviour shown by the opposition players. In addition, his failings with the bat notwithstanding Cook is a class act off the pitch as captain and would make an excellent diplomat when he retires from the game. I do think however the captaincy has affected his form this tour, and he and England would benefit if he stepped down. If there any tough Ray Illingworth types coming through the ranks at Yorkshire, would they please put their names forward ?

The batting is the main problem and has been for 2 years or more. England have not scored enough runs. Having said that as with any failing enterprise the problem starts at the top, Flower and Cook have said today they want to stay and build a new England team but there have to be question marks over both of them and Gooch, the batting coach.

Cook will score lots more runs for England but I'm not sure he will remain as captain. He looks to have had enough.

Well done to Stokes but let them off the hook again - nasty piece of work to the fore once more. Waugh and Lehman apart, was there ever a more unpleasant cricketer ?

Interesting debate between one who knows where he comes from and is loyal and the other who has the no morals. Keep it up chaps. Agree about Lehmann, an odious man whose code of conduct on and off the cricket field is the antithesis of the way the game should be played. I'm very surprised the EWB did not call for him to be censured by the ICC over his Broad comments last summer.

Well Ned, Botham's batting role at No 6 was different from that of Kallis who batted at No 3. Botham was one of the exciting hitters of a cricket ball in the history of the game.Who will ever forget the way he single-handedly destroyed the Australian bowling in 1981, but I expect that sticks in your antipodean craw. Botham's bowling was miles better than that of Kallis. His 8-34 against India was a masterclass in the art of swing. As for Larwood and Barnes, they weren't a patch on the greatest fast bowler of them all, Frank Tyson, a Lancashire lad from Bolton. Now how about complimenting a current England player on becoming the youngest player to make 8,000 runs in Tests ?

Well said Ned, ignoring the fact one of the greatest all-rounders played for "your" county. Stats don't tell the whole story. I played cricket to a reasonable level and I'm not easily impressed by professional cricketers. The test of a player for me is whether i would pay good money to watch them and I wouldn't pay to watch Kallis. I would however pay to watch Botham who always emptied the bars at cricket grounds whenever he came in to bat. We used to down tools at work to watch him on TV in his pomp because he was compulsive viewing. There haven't been many players in my lifetime of whom you could say the same. Now take back what you said about Cook and Bell and praise Cook for his 8,000 runs achievement.

Good player Kallis, but never had the ability to excite like Botham who in his pomp was the best I've seen. Anderson was bending the ball both ways only last summer. He'll come again. Rogers seems to be a popular player even among the England players but why would you want someone to do well against England unless you are a rock cruncher (which you've never denied) ? I know the Root family and want him to do well for Yorkshire but never against Lancashire. You're way off with your criticism of Cook and Bell too. Cook had to work hard at his technique after problems early in his career and Bell too has worked hard to improve after his temperament was questioned. I'll tell you what Ned Kelly: how about praising Cook for becoming the youngest player to make 8000 Test runs, beating even the likes of Tendulkar ? Go on, you can do it - even though he plays for your enemy England. .

Haddin comes across as a particularly nasty piece of work. His attempt to get Root out and then abusing him after the appeal was upheld was disgusting. If I had the ability to bowl at 90mph plus like Broad I know where I'd be aiming. Heavens knows what England's batsmen were thinking about yesterday - from Root's daft's runout to Bell's first ball shot that even a club cricketer would have been embarrassed to play this innings was the low point of a very poor series. England might take ten wickets today but it's highly unlikely. If Flower (and batting coach Gooch) were in football they'd have been sacked long before now.

Sailing along nicely at 60-0 but three quick wickets before I went to bed and the eventual outcome was entirely predictable when I turned on the wireless this morning. I'd be very surprised if our bowlers ran through them a second time.