“I didn’t like that” - Michael Vaughan blasts England for abandoning Joe Root after horror show at MCG

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has lambasted the visitors for not standing by captain Joe Root after their embarrassing defeat on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test.

England crumbled to 68 all out in their second innings of the third Test Ashes on Tuesday. Resuming their innings at 31 for 4, they folded up without a fight as Australia retained the Ashes with an innings and 14 run-triumph.

After England’s horror effort, Vaughan told Fox Cricket that he was disappointed to see Root alone at the post-match interaction. All the other English players were headed back to the dressing room. Lashing out at the England team, Vaughan said:

“What I didn’t like, when Joe Root was doing the press and doing the interview with Gilly, and I didn’t see any other England players out there. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like the fact that the England players – they went straight down into the dressing room. They’re embarrassed.”

The former England captain added that a team needs to be with its leader in tough times. Vaughan added:

“And of course you’re embarrassed. You’ve just performed poorly; you’ve just been bowled out for 68. Show face; get on the pitch; support your captain. The captain’s going to answer all the questions now; he has done. Well, his team have got to be right beside him even in the tough times.”

Root ended 2021 as the leading Test run-getter with 1708 runs from 15 games at an average of 61. However, his efforts were undone by a fragile batting line-up, with no one else standing up to the challenge.

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“That was embarrassing” - Michael Vaughan on England conceding Ashes without a fight

Vaughan termed England’s Ashes series defeat as ‘embarrassing’. The visitors showed signs of a fight when James Anderson’s four-for restricted Australia to 267 in their first innings at the MCG. However, England were soon 22 for 4 in response on the second evening, and their fate in the series was all but sealed.

Reflecting on England’s shocking loss, Vaughan said:

“England - they’ve got some big problems. That was embarrassing. They’re a group of players that pride themselves on competing, and they’ve just not managed to find any kind of consistency or skill. They’ve not been able to manage this powerhouse of a team. The juggernaut started in Brisbane, and they’ve not been able to stop the Australian juggernaut.”

England and Australia will now meet in the fourth Ashes Test, which begins at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on January 5.