Ashes Verdict - Wolverhampton Cricket Club

The 2015 Ashes series is now level at 1-1 after Australia completed a huge 405 run win at the home of cricket, bowling England out for a dismal 103 from a target set of 509.

Starting the day with a lead of 362 in the bag, Australia added a further 146 to their second innings total with David Warner (83) and Steve Smith (58) making batting look pretty easy on a flat surface.

With a lead of more than 500 on the board, Australia captain Michael Clarke declared before lunch giving them more than five sessions to take the ten wickets needed to win the match.

But they did not even need two full sessions, as the fast bowling of Mitchell Johnson and co proved too hostile for England's batting line-up to cope with.

Just as in the first innings, batsman Adam Lyth, Gary Balance, Ian Bell and Joe Root fell cheaply with captain Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes – who rescued England to some extent in the first innings – also falling as England were reduced to 64-5 at tea.

And the resumption of play saw England go deeper in the mire as Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali were dismissed in the first over before the tail-end batsmen were dismissed shortly afterwards.

Speaking after the match Cook said his team need to take the defeat 'on the chin' and will look to bounce back when the next Test starts in Edgbaston later this month.

Commentators have called for changes to be made to England's top order with the team consistently losing early wickets in innings throughout 2015 starting from their tour of the West Indies back in April.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he would like to see Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow, who made a century today for his county against Worcestershire, in for either Balance or Bell.

And former England coach David Lloyd felt there would be a selection meeting following the defeat. He tweeted: "Thoroughly outplayed here….Lick your wounds, brush up well at Edgbaston…Long selection meeting!"

But back in the Black Country Tariq, who plays as an all-rounder for Wolverhampton, said England should stick with what they've got and judge the players after a crucial third Test.

"Personally I think it is going to be very hard for England to come back from this," he said.

"To be bowled out for 103 in the second innings there is just no excuse for that but that's what scoreboard pressure can do.

"Once the guys who have been in form such as Root, Cook and Stokes struggled then it was always going to be difficult especially against a fiery Australia.

"The problem is in my opinion there are not many other players stepping up in the county game.

"To be fair who do you bring in? These are the same guys who won the first Test you have to remember.

"I don't think it is time to panic in the sense of making changes to the team. You have just got to see how they pick themselves up and react during the next Test. Australia did that in Lord's, now its England's turn.

"The next Test is the important thing now because its outcome could decide whether it is going to be a competitive series or a one-sided one.

"Once Australia were on top it was always going to be hard for England. 312 was ok but they needed to get much closer to the Australian's first innings score (566-8 declared)."

The next Test begins on Wednesday, July 29.

Can England recover from this heavy defeat? Let us know what you think by commenting below or emailing nigel.slater@expressandstar.co.uk.