FORMER England Women’s coach Mark Robinson branded the side’s catching “embarrassing” and “hard to watch” after an error-strewn second day nudged Australia ever closer to an Ashes whitewash.

A torturous tour appears to be heading towards an unprecedented 16-0 series sweep after the hosts piled up 422 for five at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — a lead of 252.

Annabel Sutherland led the way with 163 but was dropped twice in the first hour on 29 and 31, while Beth Mooney finished on 98 not out after surviving three chances before reaching 20.

At least seven catchable opportunities hit the turf, with a couple of half-chances to add, and there were several egregious misfields elsewhere.

The blame was shared around as Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, Sophie Ecclestone, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Maia Bouchier and Lauren Filer all fumbled chances.

And Warwickshire head coach Robinson, who won the 2017 World Cup during his time in charge of England Women, was concerned about what he saw.

“It’s been infectious. One goes down, confidence goes and people don’t want the ball,” he told TNT Sports.

“They had spells in the game where it got embarrassing. It was hard to watch. The tenser we get, the harder our hands get.”