Matt Prior lifts lid on England's 'unprofessionalism' during Ashes test
England wicketkeeper Matt Prior has blamed a lack of professionalism for England's 5-0 Ashes whitewash.
In a frank assessment of performances Down Under, Prior – who was dropped after the third Test – suggested the players may have shown a lack of respect for captain Alastair Cook and team director Andy Flower after allowing standards to slip.
The 31-year-old pinpointed problems such as turning up late for meetings and wearing the wrong uniform as reflective of a bigger issue that contributed to England's downfall.
"There are obvious straightforward cricketing reasons why we lost the Ashes in Australia but when assessing this defeat you have to look deeper," Prior said.
"It all goes back to the dressing room and making sure that environment is right and on this tour I think we let it slip a bit.
"We let a few things slide. They appear trivial issues to those on the outside but they are important when building a team environment.
"Little things like wearing the right kit, turning up to meetings on time, not five minutes late. It is about the respect you have for your team-mates, coach and captain."
