The Ashes 2025-26: Where did it all go wrong for England as Australia retain the urn in dominant fashion?
Australia retain Ashes by racing to unassailable 3-0 lead inside 11 days with victory in third Test; England without a win in 18 Tests down under since 2011; where did it go wrong for captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum?
Sunday 21 December 2025 10:12, UK
England's bid to regain the Ashes is over after three comprehensive defeats in the first three Tests of the five-match series in Australia, but where did it all go wrong for Ben Stokes' side?
Poor planning and preparation
Arguably the sorest spot for most followers of this England Test team, not just the so-called "has beens".
Stokes would later apologise for his choice words when taking on former England greats like Sir Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan who had challenged the team's preparation ahead of the Ashes, saying 'I got the words I said completely wrong'. But the damage had been done.
The bone of contention was England's decision to head into their greatest test as a team - a five-Test tour of Australia - with only one warm-up game, an effective intra-squad contest against the Lions over three days at Lilac Hill, on a notably slower surface from the one that they would be blasted out inside two days on in Perth only a week later.
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Stokes and Brendon McCullum can point to a similar build-up on the five previous overseas trips under their leadership in which they have won the first Test of the series on each of their visits to Pakistan (x2), New Zealand (x2) and India.
But Australia is a different beast.
"They had so little cricket before the first Test, I don't think they were match ready for an Ashes tour," Sky Sports' Michael Atherton said. "Coming to Australia is a different cricketing culture, the crowds here, the kind of ferociousness of the experience, I think you need to be game ready and game sharp for it. They weren't."
Even after their series-opening drubbing in Perth, England turned down the chance to get more game time under their players' belts in a two-day contest against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra.
Sure, it was again being played on the slower, lower deck of the Manuka Oval, but it would have at least given some members of their squad some valuable pink-ball experience ahead of the day-night second Test at The Gabba. Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson had never played a first-class match in such conditions, and Brydon Carse only one.
Cue another eight-wicket drubbing in Brisbane.
Devastating first Test defeat after strong start
Going back to the series opener in Perth, it is easy to forget that in among the 11 days it has taken for England to lose the Ashes, the first of those ended with such optimism.
England's first-innings 172, lasting only 32.5 overs, certainly was concerning, but their five-strong pace battery, specifically steeled and selected for the pacey pitches of Australia, paid immediate dividends.
The skipper took a five-for after Jofra Archer and Carse tore through the Australian top order - nine wickets falling in the final session as the home side were left stunned, bundled out for 132.
England then extended their 40-run advantage on first innings to 99 by lunch on day two… yet two sessions later they had lost the Test match by eight wickets!
England lost four wickets for 11 runs in the space of three calamitous overs shortly after lunch, with Ben Duckett prodding to second slip before Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook were all out on the drive, every dismissal more egregious than the last as they each failed to heed the warnings provided by their predecessors.
Stokes and Smith did not hang around long either - making it six for 39 - before cameos from Atkinson and Carse at least appeared to give England's bowlers something to defend, a target of 205.
But what followed was far from a repeat of the first-day's evening session, with Travis Head - promoted up to open in place of the injured Usman Khawaja - instead smashing 123 off only 83 balls to fire Australia to victory in a mere 28.3 overs.
Just to put England's remarkable collapse on that second day's play in Perth in a bit more context: Australia held a similar 102-run advantage for the loss of one wicket on day three of the third Test in Adelaide. But far from crumbling to defeat in the subsequent two sessions, another sublime Head century helped extend their advantage to 356 by stumps, and ultimately set England a record chase of 435.
Stokes, himself, admitted to being "shellshocked" after England wasted such a golden opportunity in Perth and things have not exactly improved since.
Muddled selections
England have shown such faith in this team touring Australia, with numerous players enjoying lengthy stays of execution during lean patches of form throughout the Bazball era.
But has their relentless backing come at a cost?
Pope, in particular, has been persisted with despite stretching his fifty-less run against Australia to eight Tests and 16 innings in this series, averaging a woeful 17.62.
It seems likely Jacob Bethell will now come in for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, but with the series already gone and with the talented 22-year-old very short on meaningful red-ball cricket over the past year - this is one that can be put down to yet more poor planning.
Although he has since made a couple of handy contributions at the top of the order in the second and third Tests, Zak Crawley too can count himself fortunate to have survived bagging a pair in Perth.
Both he and Pope have now played over 60 Test matches and should by now be more settled in the side, making consistent contributions.
As for the bowling, Shoaib Bashir has not been shown the same faith, with the young off-spinner whom England have invested so much in over the past two years discarded in favour of the extra batting depth provided by Will Jacks for the second and third Tests.
Jacks has proven expensive, particularly in Adelaide, but the general consensus is Bashir is now 'unselectable' for the rest of the series after essentially being overlooked for a part-time option.
Mark Wood, meanwhile, managed a total of only 11 overs as part of England's Perth pace assault before breaking down to injury once more and leaving the tour early, with former England quick Steve Harmison labelling his treatment as a "disgrace".
The injury-prone 35-yard-old fast bowler had not featured in a Test match in over a year and had played zero cricket (Lions warm-up aside) since injuring his left knee in February, but was thrown straight into the fire of Ashes cricket only to swiftly suffer a reoccurrence of said injury.
New Ashes faces fail to fire
While some might argue England's players were always going to struggle to hit the ground running due to their lack of preparation, there is no disputing that a couple of members of the squad have been nowhere near fulfilling their potential.
Among those have been a trio of players Stokes and McCullum brought into the Test set-up last year with a clear eye on this series; wicketkeeper Smith and pace bowlers Atkinson and Carse, each of whom had impressed during their first year in the side.
Smith has picked up where he left off at the end of the home series against India in July. After starting that series well, he did not reach double figures in his final four innings. In Australia, he has appeared bereft of confidence.
While you can make some excuses for his batting, especially given a spirited half century on the final day in Adelaide, his work behind the stumps has been of equal concern.
Putting down a simple chance to remove Head swung the momentum on day two of the second Test in Brisbane, while he has also been accused of not bringing enough energy and encouragement from behind the stumps throughout the series.
"I need to see a lot more from him. Not just with his bat, but his energy," said Australian great Justin Langer, who coached Smith at London Spirit in The Hundred earlier this year. "I know he's an introverted kid, but I need to see more from him. The energy, he's got to drive it out in the field."
Atkinson and Carse were meant to be reliable bowling options alongside the fire of Archer and Wood, but the former claimed just three wickets across the first two Tests before being dropped, while the latter has been erratic throughout.
While none of the trio could be described as stars of the side, three players that Stokes and McCullum had invested heavily in over the last 18 months have so far failed to produce anything near their best.
Out-of-touch messaging
It always seems to be the way during England capitulations in Australia, but the once-clear messaging of this camp has become muddled throughout the series.
While the Perth defeat was unsurprisingly brushed off, McCullum's explanation after the second Test was that England had "overprepared" for the Brisbane day-nighter by doing too many training sessions.
This rubbed many up the wrong way, with even those who understood the point the England coach was trying to make accepting that his choice of words had been clumsy after successive eight-wicket defeats.
After England were comprehensively outplayed - and left on the brink of defeat - across the first three days of the third Test, assistant coaches were sent out to speak the media at the close rather than players.
While there were extremely hot conditions to contend with, not having a player speak to the media for three full days hinted at a lack of willingness to front up amid the onslaught. It also left batting coach Marcus Trescothick and spin coach Jeetan Patel in a tough spot after days two and three.
When Crawley ended that streak by fulfilling press duties on day four, the batter maintained England's tone-deaf stance as he insisted no one in the camp would criticise Brook for being out playing a pre-meditated reverse sweep at a crucial juncture on day four.
A captain fighting against his own team's style?
Stokes backed his squad as usual following the first Test defeat in Perth, but there have been signs since of a divide between the skipper and his players opening.
The first split was in style, with Stokes doggedly knuckling down at The Gabba. He had scored a cautious 19 from 49 in the first innings before being run out, and then doubled down with his defensive approach in the second innings, scoring 50 from 152 balls as England attempted to stay in the game.
After England went 2-0 down, Stokes came out and said Australia was not "a place for weak men", which was perhaps the sternest public rebuke of his players since becoming skipper.
In the searing heat of Adelaide, he battled through cramp to score 83 from 198 balls after the five players batting above him had once more swiftly come and gone.
While Stokes' efforts with the bat have been admirable, some have noted that the style of his defiant knocks has been at odds with the attacking, put pressure on the bowlers, 'Bazball' approach that has been encouraged under his captaincy.
No one would question Stokes being an inspirational leader, but it is possible his approach on and off the field could have caused confusion and uncertainty within the travelling ranks.
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
Australia lead five-match series 3-0
- First Test (Perth): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second Test (Brisbane): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Third Test: (Adelaide): Australia beat England by 82 runs
- Fourth Test: Friday December 26 - Tuesday December 30 (Melbourne)
- Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 - Thursday January 8 (Sydney)
