 "England's captain Ben Stokes, second left, shakes hands with teammate Shoaib Bashir as he leaves the field after losing the first Ashes cricket test match against Australia in Perth, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. AP")
England’s dreams of winning their first Test in Australia since 2010-11 were given a shock reality check on Saturday as Travis Head’s stunning 69-ball century saw the Aussies take away Ashes 2025-26 opener inside two days at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
After having taken a 40-run lead in the first innings, England reached 65/1 in the second innings before crashing out for 164. Australia then rode on Head’s sensational ton to register an eight-wicket victory and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Former English players are not mincing words as they have ripped into the England’s side after poor second innings performance.
Ashes 1st Test: ‘Stupid England team’
Legend Geoffrey Boycott wrote a scathing criticism of the Ben Stokes-led side in his column titled ‘I cannot take this stupid England team seriously anymore’.
“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity,” wrote Boycott in The Telegraph after the loss.
“When you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things it is impossible to take you seriously,” said the former England captain.
He said “brainless batting and bowling” was the reason behind England’s defeat.
Ashes 1st Test: ‘Can’t win without brains’
Another former England captain Michael Vaughan too said that Ben Stokes’ men did not use their brain.
“They have the tools to be really competitive, but you can’t be competitive without brains … This is going to hurt England, it’s going to damage them I think,” Vaughan said on Kayo Sports.
He called the defeat a “big, big blow” for the English side.
“They were always going to be judged on these seven weeks. They are going to have to pick themselves up… ultimately this is a big, big blow for this group of England players,” Vaughan said.
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View AllAshes 1st Test: ‘England couldn’t cope’
Former England pacer Stuart Broad, who has taken 604 Test wickets, said that the English players just could not handle Australia’s quality of cricket.
“This is what Australia does as a country, and this English team, yes, some of them have experienced it before, some haven’t. They just weren’t able to cope with it, as England haven’t been able to cope with it since 2010/11,” Broad said.
England will now go to Canberra for a two-day warm-up fixture against Australia’s Prime Minister’s XI. The second Test will then start from December 4 at the Gabba in Brisbane.