The Ashes: James Pattison out in new blow for Australia

Australia's problems continued to mount on Monday when it emerged that fast bowler James Pattinson has been ruled out of the rest of the Ashes tour with a stress fracture in his back. Just 24 hours after their 347-run defeat at Lord's condemned Australia to their sixth successive Test defeat for the first time since 1984, the team's injury curse returned, striking down Pattinson, who faces a long period on the sidelines. He will be treated in England before returning to Australia during the third Test.

Australia have not named a replacement but Fawad Ahmed, the Pakistani leg-spinner recently granted Australian nationality, is one alternative as coach Darren Lehmann ponders two spinners for the Old Trafford Test. Ahmed is in Zimbabwe with the Australia A squad along with Pat Cummins, the highly rated 20 year-old fast bowler, making his return from a serious back injury.

Ashton Agar, the 19-year-old who made a stunning debut at Trent Bridge, had treatment on a hip injury at Lord's and is doubtful for the third Test which could force Lehmann to call up Ahmed for a Test debut. Pattinson suffered the injury bowling on the first day of the Lord's Test and throughout the match lacked the potency he showed at Trent Bridge. He took two for 137 at Lord's and his biggest impression on tour has been with the bat. He tops the batting averages after almost taking Australia to victory at Trent Bridge in a last-wicket stand with Brad Haddin and on Sunday defied England for two hours as they chased victory.

"We had some scans done today in London that have identified an early stage low back stress fracture," said Peter Brukner, the Australia team doctor. "Unfortunately he will not take any further part in this Test series and will commence a rehabilitation programme with the aim to have him back for the Australian summer."

Lehmann sympathised with the workload of his bowlers, who are also having to dig their side out of trouble with the bat. "I have played this game and felt sorry for the bowlers - they only got 31/2 hours off. The bottom order needs a rest before they go and bat," he said. Pattinson's injury is also a reminder of the fragile health of the current crop of young fast bowlers.

Cummins has been out since the new year, Pattinson broke down with injury four times last year and Ryan Harris played his first Test at Lord's since April 2012 due to a string of fitness problems. Australia have options in their 18-man squad. Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner will all play this week against Sussex at Hove in a three-day match starting on Friday with places to be snaffled in the third Test.

Nathan Lyon, the off-spinner, will also play against Sussex. Despite the Lord's hammering Lehmann insisted morale is good and "out of 10 I would say eight out of 10". Morale may be high according to Lehmann but former players want to see improvements and Allan Border led the criticism yesterday as Australia digested the Lord's hammering. Border, the man who rebuilt Australian cricket in the 1980s, has said he would be embarrassed to be part of the current team who have a tail end outperforming the top order.

Border, writing in an article published by the Cricket Australia website, hit out at the current generation which has now lost six Tests in a row and finds itself 2-0 down to England, the first time an Australia side has been in that position since 1890. "Watching today I could honestly say the nine, 10 and jack [No?11] looked more competent than our one, two and three. If that was me in the top three I'd be embarrassed," he wrote after the defeat at Lord's.

Border took over the captaincy of Australia in 1984 when Kim Hughes resigned in tears after losing six Tests in a row. He initially lost two Ashes series but instilled a hard-work ethic in a new generation of young players, winning the World Cup in 1987, beating England in the final, before regaining the Ashes in stunning style in 1989. He earmarked young players such as Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, and stuck by them when they struggled at first.

"We need to settle on our best XI and stay with it. I'm a believer in the pick-and-stick method, so we need to find our best XI that's suited to the conditions," he said. Border singled out Shane Watson for his failure to learn from his consistent lbw dismissals. "We all know what a wonderful player Shane Watson is," Border said.

"He looks like a million bucks when he's firing. What is worrying though is that he keeps getting out in the same fashion. Now who is to blame here? Is it Watson for not adapting? What about the coaches? In an era where we've got a thousand coaches and psychoanalysts and dietitians and sport scientists it defies belief that a player can be making the same mistakes. Whether it is a technical thing or a mental thing, I don't know. Is Shane not listening, or are people saying, 'Bad luck, you got a good one'?

"Whatever it is, we need to find out soon or Shane's time will have come and gone and we won't have seen the best of him. The buck stops with Shane and he needs to figure it out quickly because it will be a real shame if he doesn't fulfil his potential." Watson took a leg-side guard in the second innings at Lord's to try to solve the problem, a tactic that did not work. Lehmann said: "I actually think it was a pretty good ball to be fair from Anderson. It nipped off a length and cut back. The first innings he played across his pad but this innings I thought he played pretty well.

We would love him to make big runs as everyone would but he is just one of the top seven who has to do it." Lehmann said of his team to play against Sussex: "Ashton is a bit sore and I don't think he will play in Sussex so Nathan Lyon will play obviously. "Then we just have to look at the wicket [at Old Trafford] because history shows it spins a bit. If it's going to spin we will certainly have a look at two spinners. Matthew Wade will play in the tour match too."