Pfft. How long have you been following England cricket ? England have also reverted to their old trick of playing properly after the battle has been lost.

Quite right. Six wickets down and at least 100 runs short. Pietersen dropped twice too. England's batting has been a problem for almost 2 years now.

Extraordinary decision by Swann really, especially the timing of it. Couldn't he have waited until the end of the series ? Early 30s is too young to retire to for a slow bowler. As a club player who played until my fifth decade I wasn't even at my peak at 33 ! As with Trott however i think there may be a subtext with his decision. Probably involving his marriage.

Ah, Gallipoli. Another longstanding whinge like the so-called "Bodyline" series. Come on then. are you the descendant of convicts or just another turncoat ? Good interview with Andy Flower on the radio today. I might be wrong but he sounds like he's ready to pack it in.

Root will be an important batsman for England but it will take time. Compton looked a very good player to me but like Onions will go down as one of those players discarded for no apparent reason. Bairstow isn't a Test player - his technique is poor. As for the bowlers Anderson does look knackered and it does beg the question of why they have continued to pick him. Tremlett and Rankin were taken on the tour for their height and pace on bouncy wickets so why have they hardly played ?

The batsmen failed to perform from No 1 to No 11. Individual players will always go in and out of form but for the whole team to collectively bat so badly is the biggest disappointment. The warning signs were there last summer when England did not score many runs and again questions must be asked about preparations for this tour.

No he isn't. In fact you're contradicting yourself from your previous post.

It's about knowing your roots and your heritage and where you come from, and the betrayal of that identity. As I've said before I know Aussies over here who because they have lived in this country for many years support England in all sports except when England are playing Australia - which is the way it should be. It's different for players - it's a job of work. I've no problem with the many overseas-born players who have represented England down the years because they have made their homes and lives here. If they were using England as a flag of convenience then it would be different. And then all you get is pathetic responses like this.

An Englishman who supports Australia. Take all sorts but I guess some people have no morals or principles. Anyway back to the cricket. I hope this acts as a wake-up call for the England set-up which looks to be in need of a shake-up. Cook says all the right things but to me sounds like a manager rather than a leader on the field of play. I cannot imagine him dishing out bollockings in the dressing room because some are certainly needed.

All those players have made their home in England and have done for many years. Colin Cowdrey was born in India or would you have expected him to play for India too ? Unlike thenodrog I haven't thrown the Lord Haw-Haw jibe at you for some time but the cap does fit in your case.

This is what you should have written Kamy. To me it is unforgiveable.

Stokes moved to England aged 12. Presumably he had the choice to play for New Zealand but he wants to play for England. Well done to him. Good to see Stokes come good. England clap sporting players. You never have a good word to say about England. Now admit you're a convict.

I presume that's a convict attempt at humour. Fail.

Cook and/or Flower should remind the players about their responsibilities before the next match. They are very good players playing extremely badly at the moment and they are letting themselves and the country down. Is Cook too "nice" as captain ? Does Flower have the bottle to give the players the hairdryer treatment ? Something needs to change, and soon.

The story isn't about them more about England's collapse in batting form. The warning signs were there last summer and previous series when Cook and a few others struggled for runs. It's not unusual for players to suffer a dip in form but not usually the whole team. I also think the team looked underprepared from the start of this tour, which comes down to the management. This team has served England well for the past 5 years or so and some of the players for much longer. Time for change, starting from the top.

The rock crunchers are back here in 2015. It would not be surprising if there were reprisals considering the way they have played in this series. The "spirit" of cricket died long ago. Thanks to the home team it's well and truly in the gutter now.

As an Englishman yourself I assume the "we" refers to England. However at this stage I think the chances of us winning is rather fanciful and would probably be undeserved considering how we have been playing for the past 12 months.

Another missed opportunity by England. At 140-5 we were in the game but it's another backs-to-the wall effort now.

All the same to me matey.

Gower actually said in a Radio Times interview magazine: "How can you have a clash of cultures when you're playing against a country with no culture?" Unfair really because the real Australians (those nice indigenous chaps in the outback) do have their own culture. I think he was referring to the descendants of convicts but I couldn't possibly comment.

Yes he is. But then he forgot his "heritage" and went over to the dark side. In my book you just don't do that - you know your roots, you remember where you come from and you stay loyal. I know Australians living over here for years who support England at all times except when they are playing Australia - which is fair enough and the way it should be. Ask yourself my little Abbey friend, if you went to live in Burnley (god forbid) would you stop supporting Rovers and support our six-fingered friends ? Of course you wouldn't, and neither would anyone else. Well, in a cricketing context this is what this guy has done, and then comes on here (an English messageboard with 95 per cent England supporters) to boast about it. It's inexcusable -and shows what tolerant folk we are even when we have a traitor in our midst. Back to the cricket I think there must be a case for some England players to be arrested like DJ Campbell. More than 50 per cent of the dismissals in this match were batsmen getting themselves out to poor shots, many of them so bad we would have a bollocking from our skippers when I played in the club game. Were some England players having bets too? I read in the paper that of England's 40 dismissals so far more than 50 per cent have been down the leg side ! How do you explain that - except for downright poor play and muddled thinking by the batsmen ? Flower has to make only one demand of his players for the next Test and that is to leave legside balls alone. It's not rocket science.

Win or lose England supporters are always around. When it's going badly the other side disappear into the undergrowth.

Funny how some people are all over this thread when they're winning but nowhere to be seen when they're losing.

Don't agree with that but I would say they appear to have gone into this series underprepared and lacking a plan. There were rumblings about Flower not renewing his contract a while back and I'm wondering if he's had enough. Change at the top isn't necessarily a bad thing. Cook is one of the biggest disappointments so far but he's had tough times in the past and always come back stronger. He's still only 27-28 and is not yet at his peak. He could break all England batting records before he is finished.

We all hate losing but the Australian media has no class when it comes to winning. I feel sorry for you living there but at least you can access some decent quality British journalism online. Etheridge is good and of course the Sun is owned by Murdoch too. Ownership is a red herring anyway. The difference is in the quality of the journalists and the journalism. In general the one-eyed nature of the reporting in Australia is childish and pathetic.