What they are saying about England’s awful Test defeat

England were beaten in the fourth Test yesterday afternoon by an innings and 80 runs - but not before they had produced their best cricket of the match as Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad put on a century for the eighth wicket at more than a run a ball.

However, any thoughts of an incredible comeback were scuppered when Broad fell to Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson wrapped things up to finish with 5-69. The result means England now need to win the final Test at the Oval to reclaim the Ashes.

Here is what the cricket writers are saying about England's abject performance.WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Mike Atherton, the Times: "Andrew Strauss, you sense, is a good man for a crisis. And a crisis is exactly what England are in. Kevin Pietersen is injured; Andrew Flintoff is disgruntled, having been spurned at Headingley, and the middle order have gone Awol, just 16 runs between Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood for six times out at Headingley."

Mike Selvey, the Guardian: "The ineptness of England's bowlers, as Australian batsmen pulled and cut witheringly, was just staggering. Strauss was helpless, let down, a man desperately trying to plug leaks instead of plotting a downfall. Ponting, by contrast, thanks to his bowlers, had an easy game in the field."

Shane Warne, the Times: "England seemed to get ahead of themselves at Edgbaston. Going into the final day they thought they would be 2-0 up coming to Headingley. And while I think Strauss was right when he said that Australia have lost their aura - inevitable given that some of the team had only played a few games - I would tug on his coat about the timing of his words. It suggested that they were a bit overconfident."

Derek Pringle, Daily Telegraph: "The failure of the bowlers is less easy to address. Broad’s career-best figures of six for 91 will boost him, but his efforts were not good enough to prevent Australia taking a 343-run lead. Similarly, his and Swann’s batting yesterday, which got the crowd roaring, was like the sun coming out when your house has just been flattened by a storm. There’s a warm glow but it pales besides the hollow feeling inside."

Paul Hayward, the Guardian: "Standing higher than Ricky Ponting's gang evidently gave England vertigo. Their one-nil lead was a curse. For years they have demonstrated a masochistic need for adversity. Today's rearguard by Broad and Graeme Swann was a typically spirited pursuit of a thoroughly bolted horse. England are better at responding to pressure than they are at creating it, so winning at The Oval will appeal to their sense of melodrama."

Martin Samuel, Daily Mail: "They have made an Australian team that is fuelled more by gumption than gift appear quietly magnificent. They have restored the confidence of bowlers such as Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle. They have demonstrated utter reliance on Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff. Most of all, they have shown that while Australia have a bit of what they call 'mongrel' in the Antipodes, England have a psychological frailty that would test a psychologist on the Jeremy Kyle show."

Stephen Brenkley, the Independent: "The team led by Andrew Strauss as captain and guided by Andy Flower as coach had come to Leeds with the Ashes to play for and had spurned the opportunity to do so. Confronted with opponents as determined as boy scouts and as well-drilled as a troupe of dancing girls, they simply panicked. It was grotesque to watch partly because it revealed that the suspicions held by many about the fitness for purpose of the English cricketer under pressure might have some merit." ·