Last Updated on 1 month ago by Charbel Coorey

We warned England in 2023. It’s all come unravelling in 2025. Australia have sealed a home Ashes series in straight sets for the fourth time in a row, dismantling Bazball in 11 days.

The talk from the English media and public was quite bullish ahead of the series. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were injured. Australia are old. And, this English team is so talented that up to eight players make a combined Ashes XI.

Therein lied the problem. Talent alone doesn’t win you a Test series down under. Hard-nosed cricket does. This England side, in Key-McCullum-Stokes era, have rarely displayed those qualities, sticking to their one-dimensional style that has seen them come up short in the biggest series.

England off the field reflect the team on it. Their questionable preparation and time spent on the golf course left them short of a gallop when the first ball was sent down in Perth.

This is not to say that visiting teams shouldn’t have a break during a tough tour, but the golf and drinks sure seem to be a priority. Alarm bells were ringing loud and clear when news came out that Noosa was planned a year in advance before England scrambled for a bowling coach just weeks out from the series. Dale Steyn was approached on short notice, and unsurprisingly declined.

Plenty has been made of England’s Noosa “stag-do” following the Brisbane Test, with Stokes’ suggestion for a 12km run falling on deaf ears. The Telegraph’s Nick Hoult went as far to say that it “sums up why this Ashes tour fell apart.” However, England were on a hiding to nothing with such limited preparation, and it’s no surprise the visitors produced their most competitive performance in the third Test.

Stokes, on the other hand, put everything down to losing the toss. If it was intended to be a joke, only Australians found it funny.

Ashes 2025/26 analysis: Australia seal series in satisfying fashion against underprepared England

Fielding: Chalk and cheese

The view that Alex Carey’s non-dismissal on day one in Adelaide was the biggest difference is nonsense. England had calls go their way in the city of churches, with Joe Root surviving two very close calls and Jake Weatherald incorrectly given out LBW (yes, he should have reviewed).

In the field, the two teams were so far apart as if they were satellites orbiting different planets. Harry Brook’s drops in Adelaide – Usman Khawaja on 5 and Travis Head on 99 – proved extremely costly, as did the host of missed chances in a diabolical effort at the Gabba earlier this month.

Marnus Labuschagne twice matched Steve Smith’s Gabba classic, taking incredible one-handed efforts to put Australia on the cusp. The take to dismiss Will Jacks was simply remarkable given the context of the match and all the talk would have been that he should’ve left it for Alex Carey had he dropped it.

Speaking of Carey, Australia’s best keeper-batsman since Adam Gilchrist has produced one of the finest wicketkeeping displays in recent memory, while his teammates – including Josh Inglis at the Gabba – have all been on the ball throughout the series. Mitchell Starc is having an Ashes to remember, maintaining high speeds in the heat and after scoring crucial half-centuries.

In contrast, England’s lack of intensity on day three at Adelaide was damaging. Two days in the heat had taken its toll. Ben Stokes’ team simply allowed Australia to notch up a lead of 356 without breaking sweat, as Will Jacks – a part-time spinner – bowled the most overs in a game where the spinner who was prepared for this tour – Shoaib Bashir – wasn’t selected.

Australia bowled better, for longer

Ben Stokes noticed Bashir via social media clips and was impressed with what he saw on the highlights package. The offspinner soon made his Test debut after just six First Class matches.

That sums up this England regime. Flashy boundaries from their batters, the occasional good delivery or the ideal physical attributes gets everyone very excited. Josh Hull, anyone?

Test cricket isn’t about a few nice shots or one or two good spells. It’s about coming back spell after spell, day after day. A key difference between the teams was Australia’s fast bowlers were on the money immediately at the start of their spells, and at pace. England’s bowlers would offer a few cut or pull shots at a much lower pace before they’d settle in. They’d then be unable to maintain their lines and lengths for long enough, offering easy runs to the Australians.

Surely the team management didn’t have Carse’s friendly new ball bowling in mind when they decided to move James Anderson on.

Australia were terrific with the ball, especially from the second innings of the Gabba onwards. The likes of Scott Boland would never leave the “shoebox” before the broadcasters’ comparisons between he and Brydon Carse painted the picture.

England’s mentality and preparation gave them next to no chance of retaining Ashes urn

Teams who have enjoyed success in Australia in the 21st century have outlasted Australia, absorbing pressure throughout and earning the right to enjoy periods of dominance.

Think of Cheteshwar Pujara’s 2,186 deliveries faced across the 2018/19 and 2020/21 tours. Or South Africa’s magnificent reguard action in Adelaide in 2012 that broke Australia ahead of the final Test of that series in Perth, which the Proteas won.

What the pre-series hype out of the UK failed to capture was whether this England side was capable of outlasting Australia. This England group underestimated the job at hand. In reality, the only hope was that England blow Australia away (as they did on day one at Perth) and go on with the job (as they didn’t on day two in Perth). To do that three times to regain the urn is next to impossible against an experienced team on their own turf.

“You can’t really rush things here in Australia,” Pat Cummins said after the Adelaide Test, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“I think you kind of will it to happen, but it doesn’t really work that way. It’s good old-fashioned grind a lot of the time. I loved the toil from all the guys today [day five]. It got a little bit closer than I would have liked, but I’m pretty happy.”

England were in a rush and unprepared for the rigours of a tough Test series. The fact they only started to become truly competitive late in the third Test meant they were never match ready or fit. Their decision to skip a match against Australia A at a Test venue has come back to bite and serious questions should be asked when a friendly against England Lions at Lilac Hill was deemed sufficient preparation.

Bowling and fielding proves the difference with imperfect batting from both teams

Much has been made of England’s shoddy batting. And rightly so. Their breaks in concentration and poor strokeplay in crucial moments proved costly. They were able to bounce back from their Lord’s horror show in 2023, but coming back from 2-0 down in Australia is wishful thinking.

To be fair, Australia also left a little to be desired with their batting performances despite solid totals. Australia gifted wickets throughout the Gabba and Adelaide Tests to open the the door for England. Think Cameron Green at the Gabba, the entire first day in Adelaide and then Khawaja and Green again in the second innings.

However, Australia stitched more significant partnerships while England regularly lost wickets in clumps. Travis Head, in familiar style, has produced two match-defining performances in a high-profile series. With England unable to match Australia’s bowling and fielding prowess, they desperately needed more consistency from their top five.

In Adelaide, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith in particular were out in very soft fashion in the second innings after England inexplicably fell to 168/8 on a flat surface in 40-degree heat on day two.

There is a world where England chase 435. The Adelaide pitch was still magnificent for batting on day five, and Nathan Lyon going down represented a huge opportunity. The new ball was the critical period, and Jamie Smith, indicative of England’s lack of match awareness throughout the series, played an extremely low-percentage shot off Australia’s fastest bowler after hitting four boundaries in a row. Had he and Will Jacks got the target to under 100 to win, anything could have happened.

Harry Brook is the other glaring example. Brook oozes ability, and we’ve seen glimpses of it in this series. But glimpses don’t win you Test matches in Australia. Hard graft does, and Brook still lacks that at this stage of his career. He’s made some big scores with momentum on his side against shellshocked opponents in recent years, but now opponents are onto him and he needs to adjust.

Two other players who were touted for big series were Joe Root and Ben Duckett. However, neither have asked enough questions of Australia. The hosts know that hanging the ball in the channel long enough will get the job done. The fact that a single plan works time and again against a player with over 13,000 Test runs in particular is a huge disappointment for England.

Then you have Ollie Pope. He simply has too many technical deficiencies to be a successful Test number three. His head falls way over the offside, his frontfoot remains planted, his bat comes across at an angle, and he plays with very hard hands. With Zak Crawley arguably England’s best batter in the second innings at Adelaide, there is a very real possibility that Pope is the first casualty out of this Ashes defeat.

5-0 now on the cards for Australia

Marnus Labuschagne summed up Australia’s mood. Many had written them off at the start of the series. Three Tests later, and they have sealed the Ashes in the second-fastest time ever in terms of balls bowled (4,719).

“We have to say, being called the worst Australian team in 15 years … like it’s nice to be sitting where we are, 3-0 up,” Marnus Labuschagne told ABC radio, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. “The job’s not done yet. We want to make sure it’s 5-0 and really take that urn.”

Pat Cummins is on ice for Melbourne. Todd Murphy replaces the injured Nathan Lyon. Steve Smith is every chance of returning.

If you think Australia will let up now, think again. No team has gone winless in Australia in 19 Tests (New Zealand and England equal with 18), and it would be quite nice for the Aussies if England were to hold that record.