What went wrong for England in Ashes 2025-26? Bazball backfired, basics slipped, and Australia capitalised to dominate 3-0.
If making schoolboyish mistakes at crucial junctures of a Test match is an art, then England’s Bazball approach is the Picasso of it. Heading into the third Ashes 2025/26 Test at Adelaide Oval, England were already 2-0 behind in the series. They needed a miracle to turn the tables. And despite being ahead in patches during the course of the acid test, their arrogance took over common sense, evident in their batters’ shot selections.
There is a generation of England players who don’t know what it feels like to win an Ashes series in Australia. Skipper Ben Stokes, and experienced batter Joe Root, having played for more than 13 years. But, they have yet to feature on the winning side in even one Test down under.
In the early days of Bazball, a lot of credit went to Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum for bringing back excitement to Test cricket. But, it seems to have run its course.
Read More: Comparative analysis between Snickometer & UltraEdge
England batters again lack judgement & situational knowledge
At 177/3, chasing 435 to stay alive in the Ashes, Harry Brook decided to reverse sweep Nathan Lyon off the rough. England’s most extravagantly gifted young batter, wildly off balance, saw the ball pitching outside off stump and spinning devilishly. It clipped the top of the leg stump as Brook stood there, confused if he had been bowled or stumped.
It was a time when Brook’s only strategy, during the 68-run partnership with Zak Crawley, should have been to negotiate the rest of the day. Moreover, it was the first ball of Lyon’s new spell, making him all the more dangerous. Interestingly, just a couple of overs ago, Brook tried to ramp Scott Boland’s nearly perfect yorker and got reprieved, suggesting the young batter’s lack of situational experience.
At the start of the trip, there were excited whispers within the England camp that Brook had the talent to decide at least two Tests on his own. He has indeed decided two out of the first three Tests, but not the way England would’ve wanted. Even in Brisbane, he went for a flashing drive in Mitchell Starc’s new spell, which was the exact thing that Australia wanted him to do. When his team needed him to time himself according to the situation, Brook wrote his own demise.
A little common sense could have kept them at only three down at stumps on Day 4 in Adelaide. Alas, Brook’s wicket gave Australia fresh air as they picked two more wickets of Stokes and Zak Crawley by the end of the day’s play. Stokes got a ripper from Lyon that pitched in the middle-stump line and spun viciously to disturb the off-stump.
Crawley was also dismissed in similar fashion. But, the string of mistakes didn’t end there. Jamie Smith and Will Jacks had almost survived the first session of the fifth day as England again started to believe. But Jamie couldn’t resist himself when given the bait. After four boundaries in a span of six balls, he tried to slog across the line. The ball went high towards wide mid-on, where Pat Cummins held a safe catch.
It has been the same old story. Whenever there is a chance to be ruthless with the bat and ball in hand, England slip up. And just like every Australia side, this team too turns games on their head.
Read More: England have their task cut out in Ashes 2025-26 being 0-2 in arrears
England’s struggling top order and lack of bowling plans cost another Ashes trip
One of the biggest issues for England in the current Ashes has been their bowling. They didn’t hunt for the wickets like Australia did, and that made them pay. Heading into the trip, they wrapped Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in cotton wool, expecting the duo to breathe fire when called upon.
But just a week later, Wood got ruled out of the remainder of the series, putting all of the visitors’ plans into the dustbin. Archer looked short of overs in the first couple of games, and it took him this third Test to bowl consecutive good spells.
Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson need to understand that they can’t bounce out Australia batters with their 130 kmph pace. They need to take a leaf out of Boland’s book, who kept putting in deliveries at the same place one after another. Discipline is key, along with concentration, on tough surfaces.
England’s top three have managed only 436 runs in 18 innings so far in the series at an average of 24.22. They recorded just two half-centuries. This can never be enough to win Tests against Australia. The home side, on the other hand, cashed in to bag 666 runs at an average of 41.62 among their top three, with two centuries and three fifties.
Grabbing momentum is vital to win Tests and England have missed the trick. In the first innings of the Adelaide Test, they had Australia at 271/7 before letting them add another 100 runs from thereon. In the following innings, the Pat Cummins-led side added 200 runs for the last six wickets.
Memory goes back to the second day of the Perth Test when they had eight wickets in the bag with a 100-run lead. And four hours later, they pulled off the impossible by losing the Test match.
Ben Stokes needs to raise his hand heading into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne from December 26. He needs to come up with a special performance with both bat and ball to give the England fans something to cheer about. Otherwise, it may end up in a white-wash horror show for the visitors.
Stuart Broad wasn’t wrong while calling the current Australia side the worst in the last few years. He also wasn’t wrong to mention the current England team as the best to tour down under since 2010. But, he failed to point out that the gap between Australia’s worst and England’s best teams is massive. The current scoreline of 3-0 reflects it perfectly.
Read More: Has Bazball been counter-productive for England when they have been ahead in the game?
