Finn laments 'very, very poor' England

Steven Finn insists England's Ashes winners were short on skill, not desire on a chastening second day at The Oval.

Having blown away Australia at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge to take a 3-1 series lead, they were dealt some of their own medicine in the first two days of the fifth Test.

Having inserted the tourists they watched as Steve Smith's 143 set them up for a first-innings 481, then collapsed to 8-107 at stumps.

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"We're disappointed about the way we played. It was a very, very poor day. There's no hiding away from that," said Finn, who took his 100th Test wicket when he removed allrounder Mitchell Marsh.

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"Every time we put on an England shirt, we want to do ourselves and our country justice - and the people who've paid money to come here and watch.

"I don't think it was an 'attitude thing'. I think we had the right attitude.

"People will go to their hotel rooms and reflect on what we could have done better."

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Victory is now a tough ask for the hosts, who would also need a fair bit of rain to salvage a draw.

Watch the eight England wickets (Aus only)

Finn suggested his side needed to regain their fighting spirit.

"We're not giving up this game. We have 12 wickets to score as many runs as we can," he said.

"We have to do it with a determination to succeed. We will do that.

"We have to be able to look at each other in the eye at the end of these five days and say 'I gave everything, and fought as hard as I possibly could'.

"We don't want to finish this series on a bum note; we want to finish it with our heads held high."