Former captain Michael Vaughan has accused England of showing "no spirit or fight" after a horror performance on day three of the third Test against the West Indies left them staring down the barrel of another series defeat.
England were poor with the ball as Joshua da Silva scored his maiden Test match hundred after sharing 40+ run partnerships with all three members of the West Indies tail. However, England were even worse with the bat.
Almost all of their batters could be considered culpable in their own dismissals as England slumped to 103-8 at the close of play in their second innings. That left Joe Root's side with a lead of just ten runs and Vaughan was scathing in his criticism of their display.
Speaking on BT Sport, he said: "To see the England team just capitulate like that with no spirit or fight – I am afraid there are big questions to ask. The lack of resistance in this England team is non-existent.
"As ex-players, you watch and think: 'yes, it is tough, bubble life, Covid throughout these past two years with England travelling, it has been pretty difficult at times.' But when you continuously see them just collapse and show no fight, no spirit and togetherness…
"I hear all the time that the England squad are quite tight and have a good spirit. No they haven’t. Spirit happens on the pitch, it doesn’t happen on the beach or by the pool.
"It happens on the pitch when you get partnerships working together and you fight your way through tricky situations. You don’t gift the opposition an easy win.
"I don't think there was any dismissal today that couldn't have been avoided. There wasn't one jaffa. It is just the pressure. The England side can't seem to mentally be able to cope with the pressure.
"Kyle Mayers has got 7-22 in the game. He's a good all-rounder - he's skillful - but he's no Joel Garner or Curtly Ambrose. This England team have almost thrown in the white towel. When the pressure is on they've once again failed to cope."
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