Allan Border critical of Australia's top three batsmen

Former Australia captain Allan Border has admitted that he has been "embarrassed" by the performance of his nation's opening three batsmen during the first two Ashes Test matches.

Shane Watson, Chris Rogers, Ed Cowan and Usman Khawaja, who was called up for the most recent Test at Lord's, have only managed to record two half-centuries between them in four innings.

"Our major concern right now is the performance of the top six. I could honestly say the nine, 10 and jack looked more competent than our one, two and three," Border told Cricket Australia.

"If that was me in the top three, I'd be embarrassed. We need to settle on our best 11 and stay with it. I'm a believer in the pick and stick method, so we need to find our best 11 suited to the conditions and stick with it."

The third Test of the ongoing series, which Australia trail 2-0, will get underway on August 1.