Cricket legend Kevin Pietersen made a brutal claim about England after their horror Ashes showing against Australia.
The Aussies were dominant from the get-go as they raced to a 3-0 lead before Christmas after victories in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
England made it 3-1 by winning the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
However, the Aussies sealed a 4-1 victory after a triumph in Sydney.
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The tour was also marred with controversy, with England players coming under fire after a trip to Noosa, which was described as a 'glorified stag do'.
According to the BBC, several players, including Joe Root, stayed away from the bars and instead spent time with their families.
However, it was claimed that 'some members of the team followed two days of drinking in Brisbane with four more in Noosa - six in total'.
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Speaking recently on the For The Love Of Cricket podcast, Pietersen stated that no matter how good England's preparation was, they were never beating Australia.
He said: "My overriding view is exactly what I said on social media, I basically said that if they had gone to bed at 7pm every night, if they had 17,000 practice games before the tour and if they had all stayed 100% fit, they wouldn't have beaten Australia.
"Because, I just don't think the players are good enough. I know some of the players won't like me for it."
Taking to social media on January 8, Pietersen wrote: "I’ve been on tours where we just haven’t been good enough as a collective and gotten beaten.
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"We could have prepared for 12 months before it, all been in bed at 7pm every night and everyone stayed 100% fit, but we’d have still lost. It’s reality! Is what it is… The issue here is, optics!!!! Nothing else!!! And unfortunately, they play a huge part, as sportsmen are public property! So there will be consequences…."
Reflecting on a disappointing showing, coach Brendon McCullum said: "I've a firm conviction in a lot of my methods. I'm not against evolution and not against progress. I encourage that across all sports, not just cricket. And all aspects of life as well. So I'm not against that.
"However, you need to stand for something. You need to believe in your methods and you need to believe in how you go about things."
Topics: Cricket
Marcus Chan