Even diehard English fans have not demurred at the notion that only captain Andrew Strauss would be assured of a place in a team made up of players from both sides.

Australia, the team with the best players, lost to an English side without its injury-sidelined star batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Because a draw was all that was needed in the final match, Australian fans fully expected to win the series. Newspaper headlines trumpeted a side 'Poised for Ashes triumph.'

But Ponting's team managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after a batting collapse in the first innings.

Former captain Ian Chappell is calling for scalps - but not the petulant and unloved Ponting's. Chappell, writing in London's The Times, wants the selectors sacked.

'Not only did they handcuff Ponting at the Oval with four pacemen on a palpably dry pitch, but they also, once again, resorted to the failed ploy of expecting part-time spinners to do a specialist task,' he wrote. 'This is a crime punishable by demotion.'

But Sutherland said selectors, like Ponting, should not be held to account.

'I don't think in any way we can hold the selectors accountable for us losing the Ashes,' he said.

'It was only six or seven months ago that we had a fantastic series in South Africa where we beat the number one team in the world with a pretty similar line-up and the selectors were hailed for their selection and in some way the perceived risks that they took in backing young talent.'