UK press savages England after defeat

Legendary paceman Bob Willis has led a chorus of criticism among the UK press following England's 108-run defeat to Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday.

Willis labelled the performance "disgraceful" and "totally unsatisfactory" before taking aim at the England and Wales Cricket Board for fielding what he termed "an under-strength side" after paceman Stuart Broad was controversially rested.

"In terms of cricketing disasters, this is right at the top of the tree as far as England are concerned," said Willis on Sky Sports.

Quick Single: Bangladesh win a triumph for cricket

"If you think about the tens of millions that's pumped into this England cricket outfit, this series has been disgraceful, nothing short of that.

"They've demeaned Test match cricket by picking an under-strength side for this second Test match, having just squeezed home in the first Test match.

"To lose to Bangladesh is totally unsatisfactory."

'Accident waiting to happen'

Former Test skipper Mike Atherton said England's frailties against spin "felt like an accident waiting to happen" in Bangladesh, and looked ahead to the five-match series awaiting Alastair Cook's side in India.

"I'm not saying (coach Trevor Bayliss has) had easy series as England coach but I don't think he's had as tough an assignment as this – seven Test matches in as many weeks or thereabouts with a team that has two significant weaknesses really," Atherton said on Sky Sports.  

"One is spin, and obviously in this part of the world, spin is king.

"And secondly, a batting line-up that is misfiring and has been misfiring for a while now.

"It is very reliant on Alastair Cook and Joe Root at the top of the order and the lower order bailing them out, as they do from time to time.

"It felt here in Bangladesh like it was an accident waiting to happen. They got away with it in Chittagong but not here (in Mirpur)."

In his column for The Times, Atherton compared England's struggles against the turning ball with Australia's, which were laid bare during the recent 3-0 defeat to Sri Lanka.

"If these conditions are replicated, Bangladesh will challenge everyone at home," he wrote.

"It may be of small consolation that Australia are even more clueless playing spin than England’s players were yesterday, although the next six weeks in India may have our Australian friends looking on with a measure of schadenfreude.

"It could be painful, with England no clearer about their best XI in these conditions than they were before Chittagong."

'Comprehensively out-bowled'

Nasser Hussain used his column inches in the Daily Mail to firstly take a swipe at England's spin-bowling brigade for the tour – Moeen Ali, Gareth Batty, Adil Rashid and Zafar Ansari.

"I said in the summer that spin bowling was the elephant in the room for England and nothing I have seen in these two matches on turning pitches has changed my mind," the ex-England skipper wrote.

"It's still there.

"It's still lingering away and it says everything about the dearth of good slow bowlers in England that the four they have chosen in this two-Test series have all been comprehensively outbowled by a 19-year-old newcomer (Bangladesh's Mehedi Hasan, who has 19 wickets in two Tests)."

"The bottom line is that England's biggest problem is finding a spinner to allow them to compete in India as they did in 2012 when they had (Graeme) Swann and Monty Panesar in the side.

"And the answer to that is as far away as ever."

Quick Single: Mehedi's record-breaking debut series

Hussain went on to condemn the selection panel for persisting with out-of-form batsman Gary Ballance.

"The selectors do have to take some of the blame for the situation England find themselves in now. Gary Ballance had done well against India in the past but that was a very different batsman to the one we have seen since his return," he added.

"This is not hindsight. There were massive question marks against Ballance when he was recalled last summer and nothing that has happened since has made us say 'that was a genius pick by the selectors'.

"I fully support the policy of giving players proper chances because that is much better than the old days but nobody can argue that Ballance hasn’t had a fair crack of the whip now.

"Sadly he is a prime example of some of the selections in the last year or so, you have to say, being just plain odd."

'They will be judged more on what happens in India'

Last word goes to Ian Botham, who provided a more measured response than his peers to the England disaster, suggesting the five Tests that follow against world number one India will tell a more accurate tale of how Cook's team is travelling than Sunday's one-off defeat.

"It (a rapid collapse) can happen in that part of the world," Botham told AFP.

"The wickets are tailored, they are designed to spin. When you see spinners opening in Tests with the new ball, you get an idea of what's coming.

"It's good for them (Bangladesh). But what they've got to do is to start winning outside of their own country. That's the acid test and that's what England have got to do now.

"At the end of the day, they'll be judged not so much on what happens in Bangladesh, but they will be judged more on what happens in India."

International cricket is more affordable than ever this summer, with adult tickets from $30, kids from $10 and family packages from $65 across every day of international cricket. Price for purchase at match. Transaction fee from $6.95 applies to online and other purchases. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.