10/01/2026
Ashes 2025/26 Review: What Went Wrong for England & Why Australia Still Dominated!
The 2025/26 Ashes series is over — and while the final scoreline was emphatic, the debates it sparked may last even longer.
Australia emerged dominant once again, not through perfection, but through clarity, adaptability and resilience, winning matches despite injuries to key fast bowlers and constant personnel changes. England, meanwhile, arrived underprepared, unsettled in selection, and struggled to adjust once the series began slipping away.
In this full-series review episode, we unpack what truly defined the 2025/26 Ashes.
A major talking point throughout the summer was the condition of the pitches, with two Tests effectively decided inside two days. The surfaces sparked fierce debate around balance, preparation and intent — raising serious questions about how much influence pitches had on the series, and whether they masked deeper issues in England’s game.
We examine England’s poor preparation and selection, including inconsistent batting plans and unclear bowling roles that never quite settled across five Tests. When pressure mounted, England lacked the adaptability required to survive in Australian conditions.
Australia, by contrast, consistently found ways to win even without key bowlers at full fitness, leaning on squad depth, discipline and strong on-field leadership. Different players stood up at different moments — a trademark of a champion side. Mitchell Starc was central to that effort, producing hostile spells at key moments, setting the tone with the new ball and delivering breakthroughs when Australia needed momentum swings most.
One of the defining features of the series was Travis Head’s dominance at the top of the order. His aggressive starts repeatedly swung momentum Australia’s way. But this episode also asks the bigger question: is this a short-term tactical success or a genuine long-term solution?
Finally, the spotlight turns to England’s leadership. After a heavy Ashes defeat and mounting criticism, do Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key survive the review and fallout of this series? Or has this summer exposed structural problems that go well beyond one tour?
In this episode, we cover:
-The role pitches played in shaping the series — including two-day Tests
-England’s preparation and selection failures
-How Australia kept winning despite injuries
-Travis Head’s Ashes dominance and the long-term debate
-The pressure on England’s leadership trio
-What this Ashes means for both teams moving forward
An Ashes series always reveals more than just a winner. This one raised hard questions — and this episode dives into all of them.
Music: bensound.com
