England coach Andy Flower admits Ashes whitewash marks the end of an era

 
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Tom Dutton5 January 2014

England coach Andy Flower has admitted the current Test crop have reached the end of an era following their humiliating 5-0 whitewash by Australia.

The tourists lost the final Test by 281 runs inside three days to mark a fifth successive comprehensive victory for the menacing hosts.

Despite arriving in Australia as slight favourites following a convincing 3-0 victory in the most recent Ashes series on home soil, England rarely found themselves in commanding positions and when they did, the tourists appeared intent on conceding the initiative.

Flower oversaw England’s climb to world number one Test-playing nation in 2011, but admits their humbling in the southern hemisphere – which sees them drop to fourth in the Test rankings - marks the need for refreshment.

"This does feel like the end of an era of some description," Flower told Sky Sports.

"It is a chance for some sort of renewal for the England national cricket team. It needs wise people making good decisions at the top to try and get those decisions right.

"We've underperformed badly.

“If I'm honest, we could have seen it coming a little earlier.

"We've underperformed in the first innings for quite a long period of time. We haven't scored many runs, haven't scored any first innings above 400 for a long time, and people lost confidence early on in this tour.

"The pace rocked the batting order in the first Test and we never quite recovered."

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