Australia winning the 2025/26 Ashes was the most common prediction before a ball was bowled. But apart from the old 5-0 Australia forecast by Glenn McGrath, most pundits, journalists and fans agreed on one thing: that this would be the most competitive England team in Australia since 2010/11. 

 

England's performances from Adelaide onwards demonstrate that this was a wise prediction to make. After Brisbane, England's bowlers have been more accurate in line and length, causing Australia's top order problems. Their batters have shown an ability to play according to the match situation, with hard graft at Adelaide followed by calculated aggression at the MCG. That is why the disappointment heading into Sydney is so profound. A real sense of what could have been is at the forefront of the minds of English fans and pundits, whilst Australians are left wondering how ling they have to wait to see an Ashes series still alive on Boxing Day. 

 

Day 2 at Perth changed the momentum of the series, and England couldn't recover at Brisbane. The manner of the England dismissals on the second day were dispiriting for English fans. The inability of the England team to recognise that batting time was what was most required in that situation highlighted the worst of Bazball. England needed to be patient, and yet aggression seemed to be the only mode of batting they could use. Before a ball was bowled Perth was viewed as must-win for England for the series to be competitive. At lunch on Day 2 that was the favoured outcome of the match. By the end of the day, a series defeat for England looked inevitable. 

 

Brisbane had the potential to be competitive after two days. Joe Root's hundred was a memorable moment that English fans will treasure, whilst Australia's batting that had threatened to get away was held back by England. Day 3 was an abject England performance. Their inability to bowl a consistent line and length highlighted the deficiencies of the pace attack they had assembled, and watching Starc and Boland bat time to make sure they could bowl at England with a pink ball under the lights illustrated the difference in tactical thinking between the sides. After England's top order was blown away, Stokes and Will Jacks dug in with the bat to take the game into the 4th evening. Many praised their batting display on Day 4 as a sign that England had learnt from the mistakes of Bazball. But I saw this as the most frustrating period of the series. The pitch was flat, and the pink ball was old. The morning of Day 4 was the time to be attacking, to try and score as many runs as possible before the new pink ball could combine with the lights. This was the time for Bazball. But this did not happen, and was a sign that the the first Test had muddled England's thinking. England were 2-0 down, and despite encouraging signs at Adelaide the Ashes were decided after just 11 days of cricket.

 

Another unsatisfactory element of this series has been the two 2-day Test matches. Whilst they were both exciting matches, heading into the final game with only 13 days of cricket being played is not great. Fans who have paid thousands of pounds will be saddened that they have not got to experience a classic Ashes series. If the series had still been alive heading into Sydney, perhaps the perception of these two-day Tests would be different. They would be a significant part of a classic, topsy-turvy series. Instead, people are looking ahead to Sydney wondering how many days it will last, and how the pitch will play, instead of with huge anticipation for the climax of a great series. 

 

The 2025/26 Ashes series will not go down as a classic.