England’s Ashes 2025-26 campaign has started with embarrassment and heavy criticism in Australia. After losing the first Test to Australia in just two days, England legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott launched a brutal attack on Ben Stokes and his team.
The five-match Test series got off to a very poor start, with 19 wickets falling on the first day at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Even with the poor treatment of the pitch and plenty of ball, England somehow managed to take a lead of 40 runs in the first innings, thanks to a half-century from Harry Brook.
England humiliated in two days as Australia wins first Ashes match
This advantage seemed huge on a fast, bouncy surface, where every run felt important. And at one point in their second innings too, England looked to be in complete control. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope were batting with confidence, and the team were effectively 100/1 with a chance to extend the lead and put Australia under immense pressure in the first Ashes Test.
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But as had happened many times before, England’s dominance was spoiled as misjudgment, poor judgment and a complete loss of discipline led to another collapse. Instead of setting a strong target, they could only set a target of 205 runs for Australia to win the Perth Test.
While chasing the target, Travis Head made a tremendous counterattack and scored 123 runs in just 83 balls. His aggressive attitude completely threw England out of the match. Marnus Labuschagne supported him with a brilliant half-century and kept Australia in good shape while chasing the entire target.
England’s bowlers had no answer to Head’s attack and the defending champions won by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.
Geoffrey Boycott criticizes England’s attitude after defeat in the first Ashes Test
In his column for The Telegraph UK, titled “I can’t take this stupid England team seriously anymore,” Sir Geoffrey Boycott gives a furious and emotional assessment of the attitude and performance of the England cricket team in recent times.
The legendary England opener has accused the current team of ignoring outside advice, insulating themselves from criticism and living in a world where they believe their own hype too much. He criticized England’s over-aggressive approach, which led to their downfall in Tests.
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Sir Geoffrey Boycott writes in his ‘The Telegraph UK’ column: “Before this series started, Ben Stokes told the world that any former player who criticized him or had a different opinion was ‘done’ because Test cricket has changed and the past is irrelevant.”
“Well, the message from this is simple: when you keep ruining Test matches by doing the same stupid things, it’s impossible to take you seriously. They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their circle, because they really believe their own hype.”
England lost Perth Test due to thoughtless batting and bowling: Sir Geoffrey Boycott
He explained how England wasted a key position, especially after gaining a valuable first innings lead on a difficult pitch. Despite their side maintaining momentum and getting their batsmen settled, the team found a way to self-destruct and the collapse resulted in a crushing defeat.
The renowned commentator further explained, “It’s simple. Brainless batting and bowling cost England the match. A lead of 40 runs was huge on a fast, bouncy, low-scoring pitch, and at one stage, with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, England were effectively 100 for one.”
Boycott concluded, “But as exciting as this England team can be, they are always a blink of an eye away from self-destruction. Waste, bad decisions, overconfidence, whatever the reason, it makes matches difficult to win. Against top teams like India and Australia, it is a big factor in defeat.”
