Wednesday 12 August 2015 10:35, UK
Australia coach Darren Lehmann has apologised for his side's defeat to England in the Ashes.
The tourists are already trailing 3-1 in the series ahead of the fifth and final Test at The Oval which begins on Thursday, August 20.
The Australia coach has used his column for the Cricket Australia website to take responsibility for the loss, saying: "We have been poor, we have been outplayed by a superior opponent, and as coaching staff, players and selectors we fully accept the blame for our losses at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.
"On behalf of our team, I want to apologise for the manner in which we have lost, especially to those tour groups and individual fans who paid to travel to the UK to watch us and to the millions more tuning in at home.
"We understand how disappointing the series has been, and I can reassure you we are doing our very best as a group to identify the areas in which we need to improve in order to ensure we get better as a team.”
However, Lehmann refused to accept that the decision to allow the players' wives, partners and families to accompany them on tour had contributed to their downfall in England.
He added: "There's no question we haven't performed as we expected and we appreciate that in those circumstances we have to accept negative criticism from the media because we've had so much positive coverage during our success over the past two years.
"And while we're happy to cop criticism for the way we bat, bowl, field or prepare I believe it's unfair to suggest having families with us as a reason for our on-field efforts.
"I can't think of any other sport in which the players are away from their homes and their loved ones for such long stretches of time.
"And as such we will continue to welcome families as part of any tour because it is simply unrealistic to expect them to spend those long periods apart."
Watch The fifth Ashes Test live on Sky Sports, starting at 10am on Sky Sports Ashes on Thursday 20th August. You can watch day one with a free NOW TV Sports Day Pass, while our Ashes Events Centre - the best of Sky Cricket's analysis at your fingertips - is available on our iPad app.
