Ashes 2013-14: It’s just not good enough, but more pain before gain, says batting coach Graham Gooch

Former Test captain admits everyone among the players and coaching staff needs to step up and prove they deserve to be their

England batting coach Graham Gooch has admitted that the entire squad and coaching staff must prove they deserve to be there after the Ashes thrashing they received by Australia (GETTY IMAGES)

England expect to start rebuilding immediately after the expected whitewash in the Ashes series. Graham Gooch, their batting coach, said last night after another desperate day for the tourists that there might be more pain before matters improved.

“Our players have not met the challenge with the bat, obviously,” he said, reflecting on the fact that England’s best first-innings score in the series is 255.

“We’ve not competed as we’d have liked and not shown the skills that have been necessary. We’ve gifted too many wickets.

“Everyone has to look at themselves. The coaches, the players, we’re all going to be under scrutiny, quite rightly. If you play the way we play, the brutal truth is it’s not been good enough.

“We have to look for ways to move forward and ways to improve and that might entail taking some more pain before it gets better. Obviously there will be a rebuilding process.”

Gooch clearly recognises that England cannot go on in the same old way, although David Collier, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has confirmed the ECB’s backing for the coach-captain combination of Andy Flower and Alastair Cook. “We need that experience,” Collier said. “When you go through a transitional period you need somebody who knows our system.

“Andy has all of those attributes and more and I’m sure he’ll do a good job leading us into 2015. Alastair fully deserves the support of Team England and we look forward to Alastair and Andy leading us to success in the future.” The future will have to start soon.