The recriminations of Australia's Ashes loss to England [Images] have begun in earnest with local media already calling for heads to roll.

Australia's newspapers and cricket columnists were unanimous in demanding changes be made after Australia ended their 16-year hold on the Ashes.

"Australia must remake its team," Patrick Smith wrote in the national broadsheet, The Australian.

"It still is a combination that will beat to death any other country but England, yet it is by England's standards that the Australian side must ultimately be judged."

The Daily Telegraph's chief cricket correspondent Robert Craddock predicted at least two players would be immediately sacked and several others put on notice that their careers were in jeopardy.

"The stinging reality of losing the Ashes is that the current squad is under immediate review by national selectors because Australia has just 14 months to get a new, improved side established for what shapes as a monumental return bout with England in Australia," Craddock wrote.

"The first casualties will be fast bowlers Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz, who will not figure in the Test or one-day series against the World XI in October. Batsmen Damien Martyn and Simon Katich are also under the gun."

Alex Brown, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, said the Ashes defeat meant Australia could no longer afford to delay change and there was no longer any place for sentiment.

"The process must begin this summer," he wrote.

"And given that much of the team's success in recent years can be credited to the loyalty shown to senior players, Australia's administrators and selectors face many a sleepless night pondering the unpleasant - but necessary - task of equipping the side for the future."

Former Somerset captain Peter Roebuck, also writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, said Australia's defeat and the inevitable repercussions were no cause for celebration for their rivals as it may only spur them on to greater heights.

"Australia have lost series before and recovered. Rather than allowing defeat to fester, those involved must strengthen their resolve and correct their mistakes," Roebuck wrote.

"What counts is not how far you fall but how high you bounce back."

Even Steve Waugh, the former Australian Test captain, admitted that it was time for changes but he urged the selectors to act cautiously.

"Everyone needs to take a step back and take a breather before wielding the axe or apportioning the blame to individuals within the Australian team," Waugh wrote in a column in the Daily Telegraph.

While Australia's newspapers naturally focussed most of their attention on their fallen team, there was universal praise for England and the drama of the series.

Andrew Ramsey, writing in The Australian, said the series deserved to be remembered as the greatest of all time, although he argued the standard of play was not the best, given the appalling fielding and below-par batting from both teams with just one player averaging over 50.

"It certainly won't win the judges' votes for the quality of pure cricket," Ramsay wrote.

"But the purists will have to admit the other components of a compelling English summer more than compensate for the absence of any Bradmanesque strokeplay."