Former England bowler Steve Harmison said the Test team must hit the "reset" button as a searching inquest began into their humiliating Ashes capitulation in Australia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Joe Root's men were bowled out for a paltry 68 on Tuesday as they slipped to an innings defeat in the third Test in Melbourne -- handing Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It was the latest in a string of woeful efforts with the bat -- England have not once reached 300 in six innings in Australia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Harmison, who was part of the England team that won the Ashes on home soil in 2005, said the "embarrassment" could prove to be a moment of reckoning for some in the England set-up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"There is going to be a big inquest," he told BT Sport. "There's going to be a lot of things blamed, people's careers on the line."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He added: "When you look at the history of the Ashes in Australia, the only teams that have gone over there and done anything meaningful are the teams that have got first-innings runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Last night, they (Australia) bowled brilliantly but that's embarrassing, I'm sorry, no fight. There was nothing there."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England -- reigning world champions in the 50-over, white-ball format -- have endured a chastening year in Test cricket, losing their series in India and tasting defeat at home against New Zealand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Harmison said it would be short-sighted just to look at the roles of head coach Chris Silverwood and Root, who has had a fine year personally with the bat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He was critical of the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB's) selection policy, saying there was no continuity of decision-making, meaning players did not know their roles in the side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"At this moment now, England's red-ball (Test) team is in a lot worse state than what the white-ball team was in 2015, when we left the World Cup with our tail between our legs," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"And we pressed the reset button and I think we have to."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Harmison said it was crucial to find the right balance between red and white-ball cricket and it was vital to find batsmen with the ability to bat for long periods<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I think we need to have a look at everything we do with the red ball and that comes from the top all the way down to under-19 red-ball cricket and try and make sure it gets better and better and better," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said he would be surprised if Root stayed on as captain while the skipper himself told the BBC: "You can't start looking at things too far in the future".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Agnew, himself a former England Test bowler, said England's domestic structure was not "fit for purpose".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The (first-class) County Championship has been marginalised to the fringes of the season for the convenience of playing more limited-overs cricket," he wrote.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The ability to produce a solid defence has given way to the desire to hit ramps, scoops and towering sixes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The message from the authorities is the shortest formats are the only interesting or exciting versions of cricket."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ex-England batsman Rob Key said the whole structure of English cricket would be put under the microscope.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"This time you thought it will be tough for England, but they've got a chance," he told Sky Sports. "This Australian side is good, but it's not great.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"And yet now there are so many question marks and the whole of English cricket is going to be brought into question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n