{"id":291089,"date":"2025-11-17T20:32:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/291089\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T20:32:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:32:07","slug":"bazball-faces-its-ultimate-test-as-england-eye-golden-ashes-chance-ashes-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/291089\/","title":{"rendered":"Bazball faces its ultimate test as England eye golden Ashes chance | Ashes 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Rob Key named Brendon McCullum as England\u2019s head coach in 2022, his quote in the official press release told supporters to \u201cbuckle up and get ready for the ride\u201d<\/a>. Now, with this hot-ticket Ashes series a few days from setting off in sun\u2011drenched Perth, the mix of fear and excitement among them has arguably never been greater.<\/p>\n

The difference being that rollercoasters tend to stay on the rails, whereas England tours of Australia often career off them. No one is quite certain which way this one will play out, other than a broad agreement that Pat Cummins<\/a> and Josh Hazlewood missing the first Test<\/a> (at least) presents Ben Stokes and his tourists a golden opportunity.<\/p>\n

Not that many locals are tipping England. The former Australia spinner Steve O\u2019Keefe is an outlier, fancying the hosts will get \u201cdusted\u201d by a 3-2 scoreline \u2013 an \u201cunthinkable call\u201d, as per one headline. According to Jim Maxwell, the ABC\u2019s veteran commentator: \u201cA lot of Aussies are getting sick of crap English teams turning up here.\u201d<\/p>\n

If he is honest, Stokes will know deep down that his men should probably be defending the Ashes rather than the tougher challenge of trying to win them back. Not because of the biblical rain in Manchester<\/a> two years ago \u2013 telling though it was \u2013 but the almost performatively loose way they began that drawn series. They only got serious when 2-0 down and incensed by Jonny Bairstow\u2019s stumping<\/a> at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n

One wonders what the Australian view of England would be had they been so gimlet-eyed from the outset or were they to have iced that run chase against India<\/a> in August for a 3-1 series win. As it is, with a recent record against their fellow \u201cBig Three\u201d nations that reads 15 Tests, five wins, eight defeats and zero series victories, the verdict here seems to be of a side that is lacking in substance and a bit too pleased with itself.<\/p>\n

England\u2019s last Ashes campaign in 2021-22 under Joe Root was a bleak affair during the Covid pandemic. Photograph: Jason O\u2019Brien\/PA<\/p>\n

This is the tour to change that perception; to compete in a manner that earns Australia\u2019s respect. The combination of Perth\u2019s bounce and a day-nighter in Brisbane makes for a tough start that could easily set England on a familiar course. But one thing that can be said with a fair degree of certainty is that this is a different side by way of outlook and approach.<\/p>\n

The genesis of this came in the 4-0 defeat four years ago. A bleak trip, England were mentally dragged down by pandemic restrictions off the field and, with a Heath Robinson batting lineup and largely fast-medium attack, destroyed on it. Ashley Giles, director of England men\u2019s cricket at the time, insisted that mass sackings would solve little<\/a>, with the domestic game \u201csetting up future leaders for failure\u201d.<\/p>\n

But while yet to claim a defining series victory \u2013 away wins in Pakistan and New Zealand notwithstanding \u2013 Stokes and McCullum have largely undermined that prediction thus far. A win\/loss rate of 25 to 14 since (shaved to 22:12 when Stokes has been on the park) represents a significant uptick from the final run of one win in 17 that led to Chris Silverwood being ousted as head coach<\/a> and Joe Root stepping down as captain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That view on the county game\u2019s shortcomings may be shared to a degree, attributes now trumping output in selection. But the broader diagnosis from Giles\u2019s replacement, Key, differed. There was not, he believed, a shortfall in talent, rather a collective buildup of negativity that was stifling players. With an instinctive, aggressive new captain in Stokes, he wanted a head coach who would breathe weapons\u2011grade positivity through the squad. Hence, McCullum.<\/p>\n

The first year of the project was built chiefly on three elements: expanding the minds of England\u2019s batters to discover the true limits of what was possible; backing them to do so with longer rope selection\u2011wise; and wringing the last drops of magic out of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson. Stokes, who had taken time out a year earlier for mental health reasons, also brought fresh thinking on the field.<\/p>\n

The gear shift was palpable, England racing along at a pioneering rate of 4.76 runs per over, reeling in four successive 250-plus run chases, and winning 10 of their first 12 under the new regime. The fast bowlers had less time to put their feet up, but a far broader canvas on which to paint 20 wickets, evidenced by a remarkable win in Rawalpindi<\/a> in late 2022 \u2013 the start of a historic 3-0 sweep \u2013 on a pitch that was sleepier than Princess Aurora.<\/p>\n

There were signs, however, that it might have been going to their heads, a one-run defeat in New Zealand<\/a> that winter only the fourth time a side has lost after enforcing the follow-on. Until they kicked into gear midway through the Ashes the following summer, they were trying too hard to show how relaxed they were: preparing with a golf trip to Scotland, declaring on the opening day at Edgbaston<\/a> and tossing away wickets at Lord\u2019s<\/a> despite Nathan Lyon\u2019s injury<\/a>. Stokes eschewing overdue knee surgery the previous winter was another misstep.<\/p>\n

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England\u2019s remarkable win against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2022 was a major vindication of their new ambition. Photograph: Aamir Qureshi\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Though not exactly unprecedented, the 4-1 defeat in India in early 2024 triggered the first signs of a team now looking to upgrade itself. The debate over Bairstow or Ben Foakes was ended for good, both men dropped in favour of the emerging talent of Jamie Smith, while the bowling attack was deemed in need of a revamp.<\/p>\n

Ollie Robinson was viewed as too feckless \u2013 stellar numbers trumped by fitness problems \u2013 while Jack Leach made way for Shoaib Bashir. The most controversial call was telling Anderson to retire<\/a>. Not that the figures in his final year, 19 wickets at 43, or his age, about to turn 42, should have made it so. McCullum simply craved more pace and younger legs, while Bashir\u2019s over-spin and bounce was deemed likelier to succeed in Australia (a belief that may be starting to wobble as the starting line approaches).<\/p>\n

Results since have been up and down: West Indies and Sri Lanka were dealt with comfortably at home, before a 2-1 defeat in Pakistan \u2013 their second series loss \u2013 and a 2-1 win in New Zealand. The 2-2 draw with India this year was the one that got away, getting to within 73 runs of knocking off 374 at the Oval, three wickets down, only for a collapse against a swinging older ball meant they lost by six.<\/p>\n

But there have been promising signs: the emergence of Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse<\/a>, and Jofra Archer\u2019s return after his injury ordeal. Ben Duckett has become the leading opener in Test cricket \u2013 or at least partner to Yashasvi Jaiswal in a fantasy World XI. Smith has looked to the manner born, while Root and Harry Brook have been otherworldly. The return of Stokes as a genuine all-rounder is arguably the biggest plus of all.<\/p>\n

As well as lampooning some of their more outlandish comments, or that needlessly petulant end to the Old Trafford Test<\/a> in July, critics point to their need for flat pitches. This has some merit, not least their difficulties on spinning tracks. As Duckett recently admitted, they are trying to become more nuanced. But it also ignores wins on spicy surfaces such as Headingley in 2023 <\/a>or Wellington last winter<\/a>, when Brook struck a spellbinding century<\/a> on a greentop with 15 wickets falling on the first day.<\/p>\n

There are no guarantees in a harsh country like Australia but, for the first time since the win in 2010-11, England have arrived with a clearly defined identity, some genuine fast bowlers and optimism, not fatalism. Time, as Key would put it, to buckle up once more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Rob Key named Brendon McCullum as England\u2019s head coach in 2022, his quote in the official press…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-291089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}