Cricket: Clarke's humiliation heading to record books

Australia's 74-run loss in the fourth test at Chester-le-Street yesterday left Clarke struggling for answers. Photo / NZPA

Michael Clarke doesn't want to even think about the danger of leading the first Australian side to lose four Ashes tests on British soil after a humiliating choke gifted England a third-straight series win.

Clarke's crestfallen team have gone eight tests without victory and are winless in their past six Ashes matches.

Down 3-0 in the series, several changes are likely for the fifth test at The Oval next week, with Australia desperate to avoid going down in the record books as the worst team to tour England.

Australia's 74-run loss in the fourth test at Chester-le-Street yesterday left Clarke struggling for answers, other than to credit England's man-of-the-match Stuart Broad (6-50 and 11-121) for a devastating spell and admit his batting line-up wasn't good enough to cope.

Australia went from 0-109 after a brilliant opening stand from David Warner (71) and Chris Rogers (49), to be all out for 224, with their final eight wickets falling for 56 runs.

Clarke was part of the collapse and said he took the shattering defeat personally as he came to grips with the fact he could become the first Australian captain to oversee four test defeats in a series in England.

"I knew there had to be a statistic. I won't even think about it," he said.

"A lot of things are hard to swallow at the moment. I have taken losses personally especially when you make no runs yourself."

Phil Hughes appears likely to come in for The Oval, given he sits third on the tour run-scoring list behind Clarke and Chris Rogers.

Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith are the batsmen most under pressure, and will need something special in the two-day tour match at Northampton starting on Friday.

The series' averages list makes for ugly reading. Clarke and Rogers are the only two Australian batsmen to average in the 40s, and after that bowlers James Pattinson and Ashton Agar come in next.

However, Clarke stressed selectors must show faith.

"Everyone says rebuild, rebuild, rebuild. But you need guys in first-class cricket making runs to take someone's spot," said Clarke.

"You can't just drop someone if there is no one better to take their spot.

"We have to continue to show faith in young players in Australia."

Even after Rogers (49) and Warner (71) fell, Australia were well positioned at 2-168 with 131 left to win.

But after spinner Graeme Swann laid the groundwork, Tim Bresnan got the key wicket of Warner and then Broad ripped the heart out of Australia, inspiring a landslide that yielded 5-13 in 54 minutes.

Should Australia fail to win at The Oval they will drop to fifth on the ICC test rankings.

Rogers' maiden test hundred in the first innings and Ryan Harris' career-best figures of 7-117 in the second dig counted for nothing.

Aussie collapse

Chris Rogers (1-109) at 4.31pm
Usman Khawaja (2-147) at 5.26pm
David Warner (3-168) at 5.44pm
Michael Clarke (4-174) at 6.10pm
Steve Smith (5-175) at 6.22pm
Shane Watson (6-179) at 6.29pm
Brad Haddin (7-181) at 6.39pm
Ryan Harris (8-199) at 6.59pm
Nathan Lyon (9-211) at 7.14pm
Peter Siddle (10-224) at 7.40pm

- AAP