Pietersen, Vaughan, Cook slam England after heavy Ashes defeat Down Under: 'Badly exposed'

England’s heavy Ashes defeat in Australia has not gone down well with former England cricketers, who have openly criticised Ben Stokes’ side after they lost the series in just 11 Tests. Australia retained the Ashes with an 82-run win in the third Test at the Adelaide Oval, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

Former England star Kevin Pietersen was one of the strongest voices after the defeat. Taking to X, Pietersen said England’s loss was difficult to understand, especially because Australia were missing several key players. He pointed out that Josh Hazlewood did not play, Pat Cummins was largely unavailable, and big names like Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon were also missing at different times.

No Hazlewood, hardly any Cummins, Smith, Lyon etc etc, makes this defeat tough to understand!

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) December 21, 2025

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Seen more dismissals this morning that tell me all I need to know about an earlier tweet I wrote, saying that, batters are not tuned into Test Cricket anymore.

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) December 21, 2025

Former captain Michael Vaughan also criticised England’s performance and approach. Vaughan admitted that Stuart Broad’s pre-series comments about Australia being the “worst team in 15 years” were for the wrong team.

Broady was close pre series with his summary of both teams but he just got it the wrong way round … 😂😂 #Ashes ..

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) December 21, 2025

In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan went further, saying England’s entire approach had been badly exposed on this Ashes tour. He warned that after a defeat like this, changes were inevitable and that “heads will roll”.

“The whole approach of this England side has been badly exposed on this Ashes tour, and you don’t have to look far into history to know that heads will roll after a defeat like this,” Vaughan wrote.

Cook, Hussain, Tufnell also criticise

Sir Alastair Cook, speaking on TNT Sports, gave credit to Australia for their performance. He said England would feel a lot of regret after the first three Tests. “Australia deserve it. England will feel an air of regret over these three games,” Sir Cook said.

Former spinner Phil Tufnell echoed similar views on BBC Test Match Special, praising Australia for out-thinking England throughout the series. “It has been a thoroughly professional [from Australia]. Australia have out-thought England in many situations. You have got to take your hat off,” Tufnell said.

Nasser Hussain, speaking on Sky Sports Cricket, expressed his disappointment and frustration. “If you had told the England hierarchy here and back home that Josh Hazlewood isn’t going to bowl a ball, Nathan Lyon is going to get injured, Cummins is gonna miss a couple of Test matches, Smith is gonna be out, they’d have gone ‘wow.’ Actually, we have ended up getting exactly what we’ve had virtually on every other Ashes tour, and that’s what disappoints me,” Hussain said.