![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/P06-260109-318.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) yesterday said it had launched an immediate and \u201cthorough\u201d review following the tourists\u2019 defeat in the fifth and final Ashes Test.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s preparations, coaching and off-field behavior all came under the microscope during a demoralizing series in Australia, which they lost 4-1.<\/p>\n
As soon as the series was over, ECB chief executive Richard Gould released a statement calling the team\u2019s failure to regain the Ashes \u201cdeeply disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Photo: Reuters<\/p>\n
Gould said there were \u201cmoments of strong performance and resilience,\u201d notably victory in the fourth Test in Melbourne, which saved England from a humiliating series whitewash.<\/p>\n
However, \u201cwe were not consistent enough across all conditions and phases of the contest and Australia ultimately deserved to retain the Ashes,\u201d he added. \u201cWe will take many lessons from this tour and are determined to improve quickly. Our focus is on regaining the Ashes in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA thorough review of the campaign is already under way,\u201d he said. \u201cThis will cover tour planning and preparation, individual performance and behaviors, and our ability to adapt and respond effectively as circumstances require.\u201d<\/p>\n
While captain Ben Stokes appears safe from the axe, the roles of head of cricket Rob Key and coach Brendon McCullum are set to come under the microscope.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, the nervy hosts saw wickets tumble as they chased their 160 target, which they reached after lunch on day five with Cameron Green on 22 and Alex Carey on 16 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.<\/p>\n
For England it was the final chapter in a miserable series.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Ashes cricket. Everyone got tense,\u201d said Carey, who hit the winning runs.<\/p>\n
\u201cUsman [Khawaja] is going to be missed. A great career and a great way to finish,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Australia lost openers Travis Head (29) and Jake Weatherald (34), along with captain Steve Smith (12) and Khawaja, who made 6 in his final knock before retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot. So much has gone into it. The only thing I wanted was a win, as much as I wanted to hit the winning runs,\u201d said Khawaja, who was almost in tears as he walked off to a standing ovation after being bowled by Josh Tongue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole Test match I found it hard to control my emotions,\u201d Khawaja added after his 88th and final appearance on the Test stage.<\/p>\n
Marnus Labuschagne, dropped on 20, compiled 37 before needlessly running himself out to give Stokes\u2019 men a flicker of hope as they reduced Australia to 121-5.<\/p>\n
However, victory was never seriously in doubt after England were dismissed for 342 on the back of Jacob Bethell\u2019s stylish 154.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralia are an incredible team,\u201d said Stokes, whose side were outplayed over the course of the series. \u201cThey had individuals who stood up. Full credit to them, but we know we could have done better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shortly after ECB\u2019s statement, England\u2019s white-ball captain Harry Brook issued an apology, saying he was \u201cdeeply sorry\u201d for an altercation at a New Zealand nightclub ahead of the Ashes.<\/p>\n
The Daily Telegraph reported that Brook, the limited-overs skipper and vice captain of the Test side in Australia, was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on Oct. 31 last year.<\/p>\n
England lost to hosts New Zealand the next day in the third ODI in Wellington with Brook scoring 6.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old Brook was fined \uffe130,000 (US$40,319) after reporting the incident to team management and was given a final warning about his behavior, the newspaper said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to apologize for my actions. I fully accept that my behaviour was wrong and brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cRepresenting England is the greatest honour of all, which I take seriously and I am deeply sorry for letting down my teammates, coaches and supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) yesterday said it had launched an immediate and \u201cthorough\u201d review following…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85,28604,28603],"class_list":["post-400379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-the-taipei-times","tag-28603"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400379","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=400379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}