FORMER national captain Michael Vaughan feels Worcestershire's Moeen Ali should be dropped by England following lacklustre displays with ball and bat as the inquest into their Ashes misery gets under way.

Australia regained the urn after an innings-and-41-run victory in the third Test at Perth, moving into an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

England will now seek to avoid a third series whitewash in Australia in their past four trips and Ashes 2005-winning skipper Vaughan has called on the tourists to leave Moeen out of their plans for the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.

The all-rounder has taken just three wickets, although he has been hampered by a finger injury, and also flattered to deceive with the bat with 116 runs at an average of 19.33.

He is below Australia’s number nine Pat Cummins in the run charts while he has been dismissed in five of his six innings by opposite number and ex-County team-mate Nathan Lyon who has been one of Australia’s pivotal performers so far.

Vaughan said: “You’ve got to make the change. If Moeen’s going to be the batsman that just bowls a bit then he’s got to bat a bit better than we’ve seen already.

“For me, Moeen can’t play in Melbourne.”

Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott bemoaned the gulf in class between Moeen and Lyon.

The pundit said: “It’s not a contest. My mum could play Moeen.

“We play a batsman who can bowl a bit. He’s done quite well for us but he’s not a quality spinner. He’s nothing like a quality spinner.”

Boycott, who featured in 108 Tests between 1964 and 1982, also highlighted the lack of credible genuine fast bowlers that could rival Mitchell Starc or Cummins for pace.

He added: “They need to get better players and they haven’t got them in English cricket. English cricket has a paucity of quality.

“Every member or supporter of their county club will tell you somebody who they would have picked instead of one or two in this team but you can’t honestly say at home there are players who ought to be in this side.”

With a series defeat now confirmed, Vaughan believes captain Joe Root needs to start thinking of the long term for the Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

He added: “Joe needs to take 10 players out with him that are desperate to be out there in the middle at the MCG.

“He’s 10 games into his role. He’s got to start having a look around the dressing room and try to identify the characters he wants to take forward. There might be one or two he doesn’t.

“Over the next few weeks he’s got to try to have a look around the team.

“Is it now time to start building? Is it now time to start looking at the future? And if it means he has to make a tough call or two then he’s going to have to make that.”