The Ashes: Will problems for ‘the worst Australian team since 2010’ give England an advantage? | cricket news

Typically, it is England who have the big questions ahead of an away Ashes series.

Would the blow be too brittle? Will there be enough venom in the bowling attack? Can they avoid Australian legend Glenn McGrath’s prediction of a 5-0 defeat (5-0 all time)?

Although their batting has proven too weak and their bowling lacking venom in their last three trips, England have suffered just one 5-0 defeat in that time, in 2013/14. In 2017/18 and 2021/22, they ‘escaped’ with slightly more savory 4-0 drubbings.

Eight years ago in Melbourne, Sir Alastair Cook scored a double ton on the mildest of pitches, and a little over four years ago in Sydney, the last wicket-taking pair of Stuart Broad and James Anderson held off the final two overs to prevent a 5-0 sweep.

The respective stalemates at the MCG and SCG felt like minor victories for England at the time, but the only win they can muster this time around is their first series win in these parts since the class of 2010/11 under Sir Andrew Strauss. Because it feels very possible.

England are playing in what Broad said was “probably the worst Australian team since 2010”, he added on a BBC podcast. For the love of cricket: “I don’t think anyone could argue that they aren’t the weakest team. That’s just a fact.”

Broad is “probably” right. Although that was mainly because iterations of the previous team – David Warner brilliantly batting first, Steve Smith scoring bulk runs in his unique fashion, and a relentless bowling unit – were outstanding.

Of course, it would be unwise to ignore Australia with plenty of time for this English optimism to fade ahead of the series opener in Perth on November 21. But since 2017/18, Australia’s grip on the cast-iron grip has been growing problematic.

Cummins concerns and top orders struggling

These problems were mainly limited to hitting. We don’t appear to be any closer to knowing the exact makeup of the top three. But there are now concerns about bowling spearhead and captain Pat Cummins.

Main concern.

He has been sidelined since July due to a back injury and believes he is not fit for the Perth Test. There is talk in Australia that Cummins could miss the entire series. Even if it was just to embarrass England. That would be a huge blow.

Not only will Australia lose their lead and outright bowlers, they will also lose eight useful runs. We only have to go back to the first Test of the 2023 Ashes at Edgbaston, where Cummins led his men to a tense victory, to see how important this is.

The dependable Scott Boland could be the third fastest deputy alongside Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but will he be more than that?

The longevity of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood, all now in their 30s, means that Australia’s other pacers have little or no Test experience and some (Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson) are currently injured.

Coming back to batting, the 3-0 sweep of West Indies in June and July was a horror show for the top three. Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas and Cameron Green managed just 50 runs between them. Green recorded this in Grenada.

The 38-year-old Khawaja, who has averaged over 30 in Tests since January 2024, and Green are likely to retain their places, but whether he will partner Khawaja at the top is still debatable and there is no real standout candidate.

Perhaps Marnus Labuschagne will bat in his position as an opener, although he has regained his form after centuries in domestic cricket. Number 3 is his bread and butter.

Other options include those who are young and promising (Konstas, Campbell Kellaway), those who have tried but not really succeeded (Cameron Bancroft, Nathan McSweeney, Marcus Harris), or those who are experienced domestically but untested internationally (Jake Weatherald, Henry Hunt).

Will Britain stick with the Pope or take a ‘big gamble’?

England have far fewer decisions to make with their key players to choose for the No. 3 spot – a man in possession in Ollie Pope or an approaching man in Jacob Bethell.

Cook, who will be a TNT Sports expert for the series, backed Pope and said it would be a “big, big gamble” and a “bizarre thing” to abandon a player so entrenched in the setup and risk disrupting the “dynamic” that has been built. We are waiting to see if the UK will agree.

While they mull over that, encouraging news is emerging on fitness with talismanic skipper Ben Stokes and pace ace Mark Wood recovering from shoulder and knee problems respectively, with Brydon Carse saying his team-mate is getting closer to “100 per cent”.

It adds to the positive vibes around the England camp when you sense that a host who is the exact opposite of Carse’s childish or not and that Carse, Wood, Jofra Archer and others will be licking their lips at the prospect of Australia’s vulnerable top order.

England fans shouldn’t fool themselves into thinking this will be easy. Sir Ian Botham criticized the streamlined preparations, saying he felt “bordering on arrogance”, and we all know only too well what can happen when things start to go wrong on an Ashes tour.

Warner agreed, saying that despite Cummins’ fitness issues and potential batting weaknesses, Australia would win the series 4-0 because England were too interested in a “moral victory”.

However, it appears that ‘real victory’ is possible here. How has “probably the worst Australian team since 2010” been received?

Ashes series 2025-26 in Australia

Always UK and Ireland

• First test: Friday, November 21st ~ Tuesday, November 25th (2:30 AM) – Optus Stadium, Perth
• Second test (day/night): Thursday, December 4 – Monday, December 8 (4:30 am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
• Third test: Wednesday, December 17th ~ Sunday, December 21st (12am) – Adelaide Oval
• Fourth test: Thursday, December 25 – Monday, December 29 (11:30 PM) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
• Fifth test: Sunday, January 4 – Thursday, January 8 (11:30 PM) – Sydney Cricket Ground