Ashley Giles sacked as England cricket chief after Ashes humiliation vs Australia and NINE defeats in 15 Tests in 2021

ASHLEY GILES has been axed as England cricket chief after our Ashes humiliation.

The former spinner lost his job as managing director of England cricket following a 4-0 mauling in Australia and a disastrous 2021 that saw nine defeats in 15 Tests.

Now head coach Chris Silverwood and batting guru Graham Thorpe could be next out the door.

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said: “Off the back of a disappointing men’s Ashes we must ensure we put in place the conditions across our game to enable our Test team to succeed.”

Giles, 48, was appointed at the end of 2018, replacing Sir Andrew Strauss.

Within 12 months England had become 50-over world champs for the first time and are currently ranked No 1 in the T20 format.

But Test performances went alarmingly downhill, with series defeats to Australia, India, West Indies and New Zealand.

This winter’s thrashing in Australia was made worse by a shambles off the field that saw claims of a drinking culture in the touring party and questions over the basic fitness of a number of players.

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Giles and coach Silverwood produced a 10,000-word report on the Aussie tour, which was presented to Strauss and discussed at an ECB board meeting on Tuesday.

Within 24 hours, Giles, had got the push — with Strauss taking over on an interim basis ahead of next month’s Test tour of the West Indies.

Many expect Silverwood to follow swiftly.

While Thorpe’s fate may have been sealed by a bizarre incident at the end of the Aussie series when police had to break up an early-morning drinking session at a hotel.

Thorpe, skipper Joe Root and bowler Jimmy Anderson were among those told to go to bed by the cops.

But, embarrassingly, the whole thing was videoed and ended up on social media.

Giles said: “The past couple of years have been incredibly challenging and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to deliver.

“Despite these challenges, over the past three years, we have become 50-over world champions, the top-ranked T20I side in the world and we remain the fourth-ranked Test team.”