Ian Botham led an onslaught of criticism for England's Ashes failures after Joe Root's team capitulated pitifully to lose the final Test in Hobart.
Botham was joined by fellow former England captains Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan and David Gower in picking apart another wretched display, with Australia tying up a 4-0 series victory.
England sit at the foot of the World Test Championship, and Botham said the culture of English cricket needed to change, with the heavy emphasis on domestic limited-overs competitions harming the five-day team.
Speaking on Channel 7, Botham said: "It's been embarrassing, if I'm honest. Gutless.
"The way they performed today disappointed me and will have disappointed everyone back home."
England went from 68-0 to 124 all out, the final ignominy from a shambolic tour performance as Australia won by 146 runs.
"The one thing we need to do right now is take our heads out of the sand and pull together and prioritise red-ball cricket," Botham said. "If we're not careful, the eskimos will be beating us."
Cook, Joe Root's predecessor as captain, found it a jarring watch as England went from building a solid foundation to outright carnage, unable to hold back Australia's victory charge.
"There was no resilience there. As soon as they get under pressure, you seen how much resolve there is," Cook said.
"That was very, very tough viewing and that has to be our rock bottom. There cannot be any worse a place in terms of getting bowled out in an hour and a half."
Speaking on BT Sport, Cook added: "As a batter and a professional who plays games of cricket, you get bowled out in a session once or twice in a career.
"You see a batting line-up devoid of all confidence and belief, that once you lose one wicket or two wickets, nobody's going to step up and stop that slide.
"You can talk all you want about it in the dressing room, but until some people grab this team by the scruff of the neck and move it forward themselves, I can't see what's changed."
Vaughan, on Twitter, said England had carried through 2021's "year of the batting collapse" into this year, adding: "You can cope with losing but not when you throw the towel in."
Gower suggested the positive messages that Root and coach Chris Silverwood attempted to deliver were misleading.
"I think we understand very easily that neither Joe Root or Chris Silverwood are going to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth under these circumstances," Gower said.
"Both are under pressure for different reasons. Joe has handled it well, kept a smile on his face. When you see him run out to bat today you can see there is a man who wants to do his best to finish on a high note, but he is not being supported.
"Silverwood's role is a different one because he is fully implicated in selection, and selection's been one of the huge talking points on this tour, right from Brisbane onwards."
For the first Test at the Gabba, England went into the match and series with star bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson mystifyingly left on the sidelines.
"There were jaws dropping at home and in Brisbane when the team was announced and when events unfolded," Gower said.
Also speaking on BT Sport, Gower said he had "genuine sympathy" for Root given the focus on white-ball cricket. Although England won the World Cup, in Test cricket they are firmly in the doldrums.
"This is the oldest, most important form of the game," Gower said. "We need to defend it, we need an England team that plays it well, that is not languishing at the foot ... barely even at the foot of the World Test Championship.
"These things really annoy people and apparently it's really annoying me at the moment.
"When you're going to try to be constructive, you look at personnel for sure, so there will be people fearing for their position in the side. Then you also have to consider who else is there to take over. There are players out there who would hope they might get a go as a result of other people's failures, but they've got to show character."
Matthews takes 2-21, hits 41 as Melbourne Renegades get first win of the season in WBBL
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews produced a strong all-round performance to help the Melbourne Renegades get their first win of the season on the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia, a six-wicket win over the Perth Scorchers at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Saturday.
The Scorchers were bowled out for 140 in 19.4 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Opener Beth Mooney led the way with 36 while Alana King (26) and captain Sophie Devine (22) also made valuable contributions.
Sophie Molineux was the outstanding bowler on the day for the Renegades with 4-17 from her four overs and was well supported by Alice Capsey (2-15 from three overs), Matthews (2-21 from 2.4 overs) and Georgia Wareham (2-35 from four overs).
The Renegades then needed just 17.4 overs to reach 145-4 and secure their first win in three tries this season.
A 102-run opening partnership between Matthews and Courtney Webb set up the chase beautifully.
Webb led the way with 61 off 40 balls including nine fours and a six while Matthews made 41 off 27 balls including seven fours and a six.
Deandra Dottin hit a six to seal the win off Alana King who took 2-35 from 3.4 overs.
Jadeja and Ashwin boost India hopes of avoiding series whitewash
India boosted their hopes of avoiding a series whitewash by taking control on day two of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai.
Ravindra Jadeja (4-52) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-63) led the hosts' charge, as they reduced the tourists to 171-9 at the close.
Following their late 10-minute collapse on Friday, which left them at 84-4, Rishabh Pant (60 off 59 balls) and Shubnam Gill (90 from 146 deliveries) ensured India made a progressive start to the second day.
Washington Sundar also chipped in with 38 from 36 balls, but Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan went in quick succession as New Zealand claimed three wickets in the space of 10 overs after lunch.
The Black Caps trailed by 28 after bowling their opponents out for 263, but lost Tom Latham in the opening over, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra following soon after to leave them at 44-3.
Will Young (51 off 100) chalked up his second 50 of the Test, though it proved a false down for the tourists, as Jadeja and Ashwin took a combined seven wickets to keep their side's deficit down to just 143 with one wicket remaining.
Data Debrief:
India are desperately trying to prevent New Zealand from inflicting their first-ever home whitewash in a series of three or more Tests.
Pant certainly did his bit by taking just 36 balls to notch up India's fastest Test 50 against the Black Caps, for whom Patel (5-103) took his second five-wicket haul in the city of his birth, as well as his sixth overall in Test cricket.
Jadeja was also inspired in the field, though, as he took his wicket tally for the Test to nine.
Webster hits 95* as defending champions Red Force move to two wins from two with seven-wicket victory over Volcanoes at Brian Lara Cricket Academy
Hosts and defending champions Trinidad & Tobago Red Force comfortably defeated the Windward Islands Volcanoes by seven wickets at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Friday to move to two wins out of two this season.
The Red Force first restricted the Volcanoes to 182 all out off 45 overs after winning the toss and bowling first.
Joshua James, Yannic Cariah and Anderson Phillip all took two-wicket hauls for the Red Force while Jeremy Solozano and Sunil Ambris each made 47 for the Volcanoes.
The Red Force then needed only 38 overs to reach 186-3 and secure their second win in as many games this season.
Tion Webster led the way with the bat with 95* off 115 balls including 14 fours and one six while Amir Jangoo hit 31.
Captain Joshua Da Silva finished 21* alongside Webster.
Full Scores:
Windward Islands Volcanoes 182 off 45 overs (Sunil Ambris 47, Jeremy Solozano 47, Joshua James 2-15, Anderson Phillip 2-21, Yannic Cariah 2-35)
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 186-3 off 38 overs (Tion Webster 95*, Amir Jangoo 31)
The Red Force will next play the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the same venue on Sunday while the Volcanoes will next play the Jamaica Scorpions at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday.
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