England legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott hits out at 'stupid things' Ben Stokes' team do after embarrassing Ashes collapse

Sir Geoffrey Boycott has claimed it is 'impossible' to take Ben Stokes' England team seriously following their collapse in the first Ashes Test, accusing them of doing the 'same stupid things'.

The legendary England batsman took aim at the team after their eight wicket defeat by Australia in Perth, with the Test concluding after just two days.

England had appeared in pole position at 59-1 at lunch on the second day, holding a lead of 99 runs and still having nine wickets still in hand.

Stokes' side then endured a dismal collapse to slump to 164 all out, giving Australia a target of 205 to win the series opener.

Travis Head inspired Australia to the total by scoring 123, with the hosts winning by eight wickets.

At one stage, England had lost five wickets for 23 runs after a succession of loose drives.

Boycott, who was one of England's most successful opening batsmen, insisting their 'brainless batting' was a sign that Stokes' team have failed to learn from their previous mistakes.

Writing in the Telegraph, Boycott said: 'Before this series started Ben Stokes told the world that any ex-player who criticised them or had a different opinion were “has-beens” because Test cricket had changed and the past was irrelevant.

'Well, from this has been the message is simple: when you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things it is impossible to take you seriously.

'They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity.

'Now it has bitten them in an Ashes Test, the biggest challenge of all and unless they mount a spectacular comeback, they will regret it for a very long time.'

Ahead of the Ashes, Boycott had warned Joe Root that England had failed to use 'common sense' when playing their aggressive 'Bazball' style, and insisted they needed to ride periods when Australia were on top and avoid losing wickets.

Following the first Test, Boycott claimed Root 'couldn't resist an extravagant drive' and took aim at Harry Brook's dismissal after three balls.

Boycott, who scored 151 first class hundreds and was famed for long stints at the crease, claimed that Australia only need to dangle bait as England's batsmen 'can't resist' biting.

Speaking after the first Test, England captain Stokes said it was important his players feel the hurt of the defeat, but offered a defence of their proactive approach.

‘You can label it how you want when you’ve got the outcome,' Stokes said. 'The batsmen who found success were ones who didn’t let go any scoring opportunities that came their way. 

'You still have to find ways of scoring runs on flat wickets, ways of scoring runs on wickets that offer lots for the bowlers.

‘The way 19 wickets fell on day one, we were more proactive with our approach. It would have been nice to have a bigger lead going into the final innings, but we were very confident we could win the game but that wasn’t the case.’

England had only been able to bat for a combined 67.3 overs in the first two-day Ashes Test since 1921. 

Earlier this winter, the 3-0 defeat to New Zealand was down to the one-day team being dismissed in 35.2, 36 and 40.1 overs.