ICC World XI coach John Wright blamed lack of form of the batting superstars for the 210-run defeat to Australia in the Super Test in Sydney on Monday.
Left rummaging for answers after his side's collective failure, Wright said: "form was an issue for some of them", although he denied lack of motivation could be one of the reasons for the abject humiliation.
"There's no question that anyone went out there to fail -- no one does. Not with their reputation," he said after World XI was handed out a thrashing on the fourth day of the one-off cricket Test by world champions Australia.
"I think form was an issue for some of them. A lot of them came here without a lot of cricket behind them."
"We never got an innings going in the one-day series which perhaps had an effect flowing to this match," the former India coach said.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who won USD 132,708 in prize money and match fees, said the victory was satisfying but it could not be a "compensation" for the Ashes defeat.
"It's no compensation for losing the Ashes [but] to win a Test match against the best players from the rest of the world is extremely satisfying," he said.
"I was a little bit surprised of how easy it ended today but not through the course of the game. They proved yesterday just how dangerous they can be as a side. They got themselves right back with a chance to win," he added.
World XI skipper Graeme Smith, who failed in both the innings, said his side did not play to the best of its abilities and was perhaps a little underprepared as compared to Australia who were coming into the matches on the back of an intense Ashes series.