Captain Andrew Strauss insisted England would not fall prey to panic after slumping to a three-nil series whitewash at the hands of Pakistan in Dubai on Monday.

Hammered by 10 wickets in the series opener, thumped by 72 runs in the second Test and resigned to a 71-run defeat in the final match, the English came crashing down to earth after their lofty success against Australia and India last year.

Their demise in the United Arab Emirates was largely due to their collective inadequacy against Pakistan's spin bowlers. Saeed Ajmal, Abur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez shared 48 of the 60 wickets to fall, with Man of the Series Ajmal the best of the lot on the back of his 24 victims.

The series averages of Ian Bell, Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan and Strauss amounted to a mere 8.50, 11.16, 13.66 and 25.00 typified the downfall of England's batting ranks, leaving many questioning the absence of Ravi Bopara and/or Steven Davies from the XI.

"I think I am a little bit surprised that we didn't get bigger scores on the board over the the Test matches," said the defeated skipper.

"There was a consistent failure on our part. You don't become a great side overnight and you don't become a bad side overnight, but there are lessons we need to learn.

"We played better in the third Test than at the start of the first but that's too little too late. Test cricket is difficult by its very nature, especially if you allow opposition bowlers to get on top of you."

Although a string of changes are expected for the limited-overs leg of the UAE tour, Strauss didn't anticipate many for the upcoming Test series in Sri Lanka.

"It's going to take a little time for this to all sink in, but we haven't been in the business of panic changes and chopping and changing the side too much and I don't think we'll start now," he added.

"I've got great faith in our players, but in a way this is an eye-opener for us that things don't get easier they get harder."