By Martin Gough

Sixteen months ago, England were popping champagne after their first Ashes series victory in 19 years.

Now, they are on the wrong end of the first Ashes series whitewash since 1920-21.

Where does the blame lie for a spectacular Ashes crash?

Australia suffered in 2005, losing both matches which veteran seamer Glenn McGrath missed through injury.

Vaughan's absence was keenly felt in the Ashes rematch

This time it was England's turn, and they suffered on a grand scale.

Captain Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones - the most effective England bowler last time - were both ruled out with knee trouble.

Then, at the beginning of the tour, Marcus Trescothick pulled out because of a stress-related illness.

This trio combined for 823 runs in 2005, and Jones' 18 wickets were particularly keenly missed as James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood struggled to fill the void.

Vaughan endured similar criticism for defensive captaincy in 2005 but seemed to be ahead of the game at crucial junctures, unlike successor Andrew Flintoff.

England did not look ready to compete until the second Test of the series, having looked completely out of their depth in the opening defeat in Brisbane.

606: DEBATE Apart from everything else the main difference is that Australia have sorted their weak spots and we have lost three key players Kentbloke 606: Have your say

Critics have picked on England's decision to return home for three days between the ICC Champions Trophy in India and the start of the Ashes tour.

England's management point to the many restrictions on their scheduling, including a packed summer, an ICC-mandated month in India and an Ashes series squeezed by next year's World Cup.

Both arguments ignore some basic facts. Australia made best use of the schedule available to them, while England used it as an excuse.

England claimed Test cricket to be completely different to the one-day game but Australia's Ashes preparations began with the one-day DLF Cup tournament in Malaysia in September.

They won seven of nine completed one-day games before the Ashes began, and looked in prime form despite barely having played the longer form of the game.

Much was made of bowling coach Troy Cooley's move from England back to his home country after playing a key part in the 2005 victory.

But his departure, to be replaced by Kevin Shine, was one of three changes behind the scenes for England.

Video analyst Tim Boon became Leicestershire's head coach, to be replaced by Mark Garaway, whose work on bowling plans ended up being leaked to Australian radio.

And chief medical officer Dr Peter Gregory, the man responsible for steering the treatment and rehabilitation of several key players, resigned in low-key fashion in October.

Meanwhile, Australia learned from England's approach and revamped their dressing-room for this series.

Ricky Ponting said of the off-field crew in November: "We used to call them the back-room staff. Now they're part of the team."

The biggest selection gamble was taken before the squad left for Australia.

Flintoff was out of form with the bat and struggled for bowling fitness

By naming Flintoff as captain they guaranteed selection for all five Tests to a player who had missed most of the season with ankle trouble.

The all-rounder has been below his best, at times obviously in pain, and been forced to cut his workload throughout the series, and his batting form has suffered too.

Once in Australia, questionable decisions were made by the selectors on tour - Flintoff and coach Duncan Fletcher.

Ashley Giles, who had not played for a year, was preferred to Monty Panesar on the basis of batting ability, although Panesar ended up performing night-watchman duties by the end of the series.

The argument over Geraint Jones' perceived batting ability against Chris Read's better wicket-keeping proved superfluous as neither scored the runs required.

In 2005, Australia came under fire for being too friendly off the field, using opposing players' nicknames in the media.

Vice-captain Adam Gilchrist admitted recently that his team had concentrated on winning in India late in 2004, and had subsequently taken their eyes off the ball.

This time, their intensity was in no doubt, proven when Shane Warne threw the ball at Kevin Pietersen early in the opening Test.

It was England's turn to ride on past glories, despite a mediocre run of form since Ashes summer.

That was revealed in the widespread assertion they would easily "switch into Test mode" after a dismal one-day showing. The complacency was quickly exposed.