England great slammed for claiming World Cup failure was because of Ashes fatigue - despite the fact Australia has reached the finals

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain has been lashed by Aussie cricket fans after suggesting his nation bombed out of the World Cup because of Ashes fatigue.

England came into the ICC World Cup as the reigning champions, but bombed out horribly with just three wins for the tournament so far.

Their World Cup has been so poor that England now faces the potential embarrassment of missing out on the Champions Trophy tournament for the top eight ODI nations in the world.

Hussain, who is now a commentator, has raised several eyebrows for linking their failure to The Ashes, despite Australia also playing in that Test series and making the World Cup semifinals. 

'It's hard for England because of the timing of World Cups on the back of an Ashes series,' the former England captain said.

'There's so much focus on the Ashes that come the end of it, you are mentally exhausted.

'You look at players like Chris Woakes and Mark Wood and both were mentally and physically exhausted. So it's about planning across formats.'

Not only did Australia play the same, hard-fought Ashes series as England, but also played the World Test Championship final prior to that.

England also had the luxury of playing at home while Australia has largely been on the road since last summer. 

'Australia travelled half way around the world to play in the Ashes, it didn't seem to affect them,' one fan pointed out.

'Just checking….. wasn't it the same Australian team that played in the Ashes and India or were all those sleepless nights just a figment of my imagination?' added another.

'That's why Australia did not finish top of the table. They are mentally exhausted for Test Championship game and the Ashes series,' one fan said sarcastically.

'It's exhausting carrying the moral responsibility of world cricket on your shoulders. But don't worry you will put yourselves down for a win anyway,' added another, referencing Piers Morgan's comments during The Ashes.

Hussain believes there needs to be a white ball 'reset' in English cricket, much like the Bazball concept was applied to the Test cricket system. 

'There was a white ball reset under (former captain Eoin) Morgan,' he said.

'Then there was a red ball reset under Stokes. Actually what we could do is have a reset across the board, which is what Indian cricket does really well.

'We need to give each format equal care and attention all the way through.

'It's hard for England with the timing of a lot of these World Cup's at the end of the summer so it's about never taking your eye off any format because if you do, sides will go past you when you think that you're okay.

'But that is not easy to do when you've got so many players playing all the time.'