England just suffered one of their worst Ashes losses ever. What they did next will INFURIATE legends of the game

England may have risked the wrath of some of their former players after Joe Root and other key stars were seen playing golf at the Joondalup Country Club in Perth on Monday, after the tourists suffered a demoralising defeat during their opening Ashes Test against Australia.

After Travis Head starred, smashing his way to a sensational century off just 69 balls, the tourists were left with a little free time in Perth.

And on what should have been the fourth day, the former skipper was joined by Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Will Jacks for a round at the stunning golf course.

Meanwhile, England bowlers Jofra Archer and Shoaib Bashir also took the time to explore the attractions around Perth and were pictured leaving the Aquarium of Western Australia on Monday.

According to The Western Australian, those playing golf at the Joondalup Country Club were ironically met by a group of ducks on the 18th green.

England's batters failed to deliver during the first Test, with both Root and Crawley dismissed for ducks in the first innings. Crawley, in particular, has found himself under the microscope after the Kent batsman was sent walking for no runs again during England's second innings.

The four-ball kept a low profile as they walked the fairways, keeping the peaks of their caps tilted down.

England have been licking their wounds following their eight-wicket defeat by Australia, with captain Ben Stokes admitting his side were left 'shellshocked'.

It comes as England greats Michael Vaughan and Ian Botham, both criticised the team's preparations ahead of the first Test.

Vaughan had opened up a war of words with Stokes after he criticised England for choosing to play their warm-up matches at Lilac Hill, a much slower ground than the bouncy wicket at the Perth Stadium. His appraisal prompted a fiery response from the England skipper, who branded Vaughan and Botham 'has-beens'.

The tourists have since left many England fans perplexed, after it was revealed that none of the first team would be heading to Canberra to participate in a pink-ball practice match against the Australian Prime Minister's XI, instead sending the Lions. England defended the decision on Monday, with the Three Lions stating that they wanted to keep the squad together in the wake of the Perth Test.

But writing in his column on Sunday in the Telegraph, Vaughan branded the move to not send several of their batting stars to Canberra 'amateurish', with the match presenting an opportunity for the team to prepare for the day-night conditions they will face in Brisbane on December 4.

'That staggers me. I'm sorry, but it's amateurish. You have 11 days between Tests, are 1-0 down in the Ashes, and have the opportunity to get accustomed to a pink ball they do not play with much, and with which Mitchell Starc is an absolute wizard,' Vaughan wrote.

Former captain Alastair Cook added that England's players looked like they were lacking match readiness.

'It's not the easy thing to do ... but it did look like they're a little bit short of that match toughness, that match hardness which you only get from competitive cricket,' he told TNT.

Meanwhile, England coach Brendon McCullum said they would not shy away from the controversial Bazball approach to the rest of the series, despite it coming undone in spectacular fashion in Perth.

'I'm pretty confident in the way we go about things,' McCullum said.

'The last few years we've built a set-up which is connected, it's tight, and we play a style of cricket that we believe gives us our best chance.

'If we go away from that, then we're in trouble.

'There's no point trying to play for safety per se. We've just got to keep backing our approach and be strong, and keep believing in what we're doing. That will give us the best chance to bounce back.'

And the message to fans was a blunt one.

'I'd say keep the faith,' he said.

'We know what our best game is, what gives us our greatest opportunity.

'We've been in this situation before. We played South Africa and lost in that first Test in two days and came back and won that series 2-1.

'Sometimes, we get beaten and it looks pretty ugly, but there are times when having that type of mentality allows us to be able to shift ... allows us to still believe in our abilities when we step out to play.

'Just because we are one down in the series doesn't change what we believe in. We have to stay calm, stay together, and plot our way back into this series, as we have done before.'