Steve Harmison says England facing ‘big inquest’ after Ashes series defeat

Former England bowler Steve Harmison believes careers could be on the line after England’s Ashes humiliation in Australia.

Joe Root‘s men were bowled out for a paltry 68 as they surrendered the urn on just the third day of the third Test in Melbourne, handing Australia an innings-and-14-runs victory and an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.

Harmison has experienced both ends of the Ashes spectrum, being part of the side which famously claimed a long-awaited series win in 2005 and also bowling the first ball of the next series at the Gabba to second slip as England went on to lose 5-0.

And he believes the current “embarrassment” could prove to be a moment of reckoning for some in the England set-up.

“There is going to be a big inquest,” he told BT Sport. “There’s going to be a lot of things blamed, people’s careers on the line.

England in terrible position

“When you look at the history of the Ashes in Australia, the only teams that have gone over there and done anything meaningful are the teams that have got first-innings runs.

“You can say Australia have bowled well, which they have done, but to lose by an innings when a team only gets 267 runs, that tells you everything about where this series has been.

“This team is a worse position than the one the white-ball team were in when they had a reset.”