Legends slam 'pathetic' Windies

West Indies legend Sir Curtly Ambrose has labelled the current side "embarrassing" and "pathetic" after their capitulation against England at Edgbaston over the weekend.

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And former England captain Geoffrey Boycott says the Windies are the worst Test side he's ever seen, adding their slide as a Test nation is a "cricketing tragedy".

Jason Holder's side slumped to a crushing defeat inside three days in Birmingham, losing 19 wickets on the final day of the match having conceded 514 in England's only innings.

Underlining their woes with the bat, the Windies survived just 392 minutes with the bat across both of their innings, more than three hours less than England opener Alastair Cook spent at the crease during his score of 243.

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Writing in The Daily Mail, Ambrose slammed the current side for a lack of aggression and said his experience as bowling coach between 2014 and 2016 proved to him that the current crop of players don't understand what playing for the West Indies means to the Caribbean people.

"In the end it was totally embarrassing," Ambrose wrote.

"I never saw any aggression from the West Indies players throughout the three days. There was no belief that they could compete, let alone beat England. They seemed to be waiting for England to make mistakes and at this level that is not going to work. Trust me, it was painful to watch.

"What concerns me is that I do not think these players know what West Indies cricket means to West Indians and followers of the global game.

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"I was with the team for two years as bowling coach and we tried to educate them about our heritage. I tried to tell them what West Indies cricket meant. I talked about the pride and passion in representing the region and our people.

"I could talk to them all day but once they stepped over that rope they were on their own and if they were not prepared to listen, it was simply a waste of time. It does hurt. And it has reached a point where it is very embarrassing."

Boycott, who played against the Windies at the start of their golden era in the 1970s and 1980s, was also scathing in his assessment of the current side.

"This West Indies lot are the worst Test match team I have seen in more than 50 years of watching, playing and commentating on cricket," he wrote in The Telegraph.

"They can’t bat and can’t bowl. I take no pleasure out of saying this as I played against some of the greatest players the world has ever seen wearing the maroon cap of the West Indies.

"It is a cricketing tragedy to see the West Indies like this and there is no gloating over them losing. We all want England to win Test matches but we should not be euphoric about this. It is just sad to see a once-proud cricket Test team lower than any I have ever seen before."

Boycott also lamented that the series could have a negative impact on England ahead of their Ashes defence this Australian summer.

"This series is no preparation for the Ashes whatsoever," he wrote.

"Any runs scored or wickets taken do not tell us anything about how these players will cope in Australia. It is probably the worst series we could play before an Ashes tour.

"It does not help the selectors in trying to work out whether any of our batsmen at two, three and five are going to be any good on hard, fast bouncy pitches in Australia. Runs are too easy to score and wickets are too easy to take."