LONDON, Dec 29: Former England opener Geoff Boycott questioned the spirit of the current side after they slumped to an innings and 99-run defeat inside three days in the fourth Ashes Test on Thursday.

The legendary opening batsman, renowned for his resilience, said the current side looked as if they had “given up” after a defeat that left them 4-0 down and in danger of becoming the first England team since 1921 to be whitewashed in an Ashes series when the fifth and final Test starts in Sydney next week.

“Apart from (Alastair) Cook, I don't think anyone has the stomach to play a rearguard innings,” Yorkshire great Boycott told BBC Radio Five Live. “It was just poor all round. That's what's so disappointing for the fans. It's like they've given up,” he added after England were bowled out for a meagre 161 - the second time they's been dismissed for under 200 in the match after their first innings 159.

“You can't see England winning in Sydney. They are too inconsistent to win. They are patchy, they have one good session out of three and that's not enough to win Test matches.”

Mike Gatting, the last captain to lead a winning England side in Australia on the 1986-1987 tour, said Andrew Flintoff's men had lacked basic discipline at the MCG. “We saw some horrible bowling, and the fielding has been poor,” said Gatting.

“Then we saw the other side of the coin, with people like (Australia seamers) Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath pitching the ball up and putting it in the right places. All we seemed to do was try to bounce out No 10 and 11. It was ridiculous. It started off reasonably but it's getting worse. “We haven't kept our discipline, and against a side like Australia you have got to keep your discipline.”

Nasser Hussain, England's captain when they lost the 2002-03 Ashes series in Australia 4-1, said the present side badly needed to show the grit at the crease associated with Boycott and a more recent ex-England skipper and opening batsman, Michael Atherton.

“You have got to show the opposition an 'over my dead body' approach, the stubbornness of a Boycott or an Atherton,” said Hussain.

“Was that stubbornness there? I don't think that was evident from anyone.” —AFP