A gross lack of preparation
A central talking point heading into this Ashes cricket series was England’s lack of practice matches. They only played once in Australia – a three-day game against England Lions. Facing England’s second-string team was never going to come close to replicating the relentless Aussie attack.
England scored 426 runs in their first innings against the Lions. A week later, they managed just 336 in the whole of the first Test in Perth. This included seven single-figure scores in the first innings and six in the second. They lost inside two days in the shortest ever Ashes match.
Chair of the ECB, Richard Thompson, claimed that their white-ball series against New Zealand would be strong Ashes preparation. They lost 3-0, and of the 13 players to have played in the three Ashes Tests so far, only six featured.
The only constant between the two series has been Ben Duckett’s abysmal form. His total of 11 runs against the Black Caps has been followed up by an average of 16.16.
Joe Root and Jamie Smith also struggled in both series. Root is the third top run-scorer this tour, but if you discount his century in Brisbane, he averages virtually the same as Duckett.
The build-up to the day-night Test at the Gabba was the worst of all. England turned down the opportunity to send any of their first XI to an England Lions pink ball game in Canberra.
This meant that wicketkeeper Smith and Gus Atkinson played their first-ever first-class pink ball cricket match in the second Test.
Smith scored four runs across both innings and dropped Travis Head. Atkinson took overall figures of 1-114.
Only now do England look ready to provide any competition for Australia. The series has already been lost.
England’s baffling team selection
Ollie Pope was the only batsman who could realistically be dropped mid-series. This was because of the presence of 22-year-old Jacob Bethell as a direct replacement. Harry Brook also took Pope’s vice-captaincy position.
Pope has now played eight Tests against Australia. He is yet to score a half-century and averages 17.62. He scored just 20 runs in Adelaide and may not feature again in this series.
But Bethell has never even scored a century in first-class cricket. England has kept the faith in Pope for a long time, and he has failed. No one else has been tested.
Bethell has played just four Test matches, and only one in 2025. It’s a big ask to expect him to perform in the Ashes straightaway.
Alex Carey was named man of the match after the third Test. His impeccable wicketkeeping has taken most of the plaudits.
England’s best wicketkeeper is Ben Foakes, who last played a Test match in March 2024. Foakes plays for Surrey with Jamie Smith. Foakes is Surrey’s wicketkeeper.
They also haven’t selected their best spinner, Jack Leach. The story is similar. He and Shoaib Bashir both played for Somerset in county cricket last season. Leach was Somerset’s frontline spinner. He was ignored.
In England’s warm-up, Bashir took figures of 1-68 and 1-83. He later featured for the Lions against Australia A, taking 0-115. Will Jacks was then favoured over Bashir for the second and third Tests, but Jacks is a part-time spinner. He isn’t ready to lead England in Test cricket, let alone the Ashes.
In Adelaide, he was asked to do the impossible. As a batting all-rounder, he bowled the most balls. Inevitably, he conceded more than five runs an over and released any pressure England’s bowling attack had built up.
England’s underwhelming top order
As previously mentioned, Duckett has struggled massively. Since his recall in 2022, he has become one of the world’s best openers. However, he lost form towards the end of the India series, and it hasn’t picked up. The extra bounce in Australia has caught him out on numerous occasions.
Fellow-opener Crawley got a pair in Perth, but has bounced back admirably. His 85 in the second innings of the third Test was excellent.
Yet he needed to kick on and get a match-winning score. England believes he is capable, and he has shown his ability, but 85 was never going to be enough.
Harry Brook averages almost 55 in Test cricket, but has been relatively poor in this series. He has had several starts, but woeful shot selection has been his undoing.
Brook admitted that some of his dismissals have been “shocking shots” before the third Test, and was then bowled by Nathan Lyon when attempting a reverse sweep.
Smith has looked underprepared. This is his first Ashes series, and like the team as a whole, he only now looks ready to put up some resistance. The lack of pink ball match practice showed, and he has also been on the receiving end of multiple DRS controversies.
It is essential to state that the problems with the technology are not the reason for England’s losses, although they are hugely frustrating and must be addressed.
England’s failures with the bat have also put more pressure on their bowlers. The quicks have had less time to rest – they didn’t bat for over 80 overs in Perth or Brisbane. Batting collapses have also left the bowlers with almost insurmountable challenges at times.
The inability to sustain pressure on Australia
Ben Stokes’ comments before the third Test were particularly telling.
“When we are on top we are great and when behind the game we are also very good, but when that moment is neck and neck we are not coming out on top on enough occasions.”
England have failed to stamp their authority on matches in crucial moments in every Test so far.
In Perth, they were 105 runs ahead with nine wickets in hand and had somehow lost by the end of the day. In Brisbane, Root finished 138 not out, and Crawley scored 76. However, four others went for a duck and Australia led by 177 runs after both teams’ first innings.
In Adelaide, another top-order collapse saw them rely on Stokes and Archer’s record 106-run ninth-wicket partnership to have any chance of winning. This was on a batting-friendly pitch.
And when they did somehow claw their way back into the match, England ended up handing the initiative straight back to Australia. The fact that they were 85 runs behind after the first innings was a minor miracle. But then their bowling attack couldn’t contain Travis Head and Carey.
They were always going to struggle to chase 435. Yet at multiple points, England looked more than capable. Brook and Smith gifted their wickets away. The series was lost.
It is easy to say England’s batting has been poor. The bowlers haven’t done enough either, and their fielding has cost them too. The odd short and wide ball has been far too frequent. Australia have capitalised with a ruthlessness that England can only admire.
The superiority of Australia
England haven’t won a Test match in Australia since their series win in 2010/11. This was their chance.
The Aussies were weakened. Their only player under 30 is Cameron Green. Josh Hazelwood will miss the whole series through injury, and captain Pat Cummins missed the first two Tests. They haven’t even fielded their best cricket team yet.
But they have out-batted, bowled and fielded England. Fast bowler Mitchell Starc is averaging 17 with the ball and 50 with the bat. Scott Boland’s bowling consistency has been metronomic, hardly ever delivering a foul ball. This has kept England under the sort of pressure that they have never managed to reciprocate.
This all comes without mentioning Travis Head’s centuries. His first in Perth will go down in Ashes history.
Carey’s batting is the only thing to rival his wicketkeeping. He now has a century and two 50+ scores in four innings, averaging 66. That is almost double his career Test average of 36.
And Marnus Labuschagne has pulled off three world-class catches in the field. Graeme Swann labelled his grab from a Pope outside edge as one of the best he’s ever seen.
Many now say it will be difficult for England to avoid a 5-0 drubbing. Stokes and England will be desperate to restore some pride to a tour that began with so much hope. Some of them are fighting for their Test cricket careers. Pope’s may where England go from here.
