England are trailing 0-3 in Ashes 2025.
Sir Alastair Cook lambasted the England team and management after another disappointing day in the Ashes 2025. This comes after England bowled out Australia for 152 on the Boxing Day Test opening day. But the visitors were also all out for 110, putting Australia to bat again.
Ben Stokes & Co. experienced another tough day on a seam-friendly surface in Melbourne. A total of 20 wickets fell, the most on an opening day of an Ashes 2025 Boxing Day Test at the MCG since 1901-02. Earlier, Josh Tongue claimed a five-wicket haul, giving a ray of hope of avoiding a whitewash.
Reflecting on England’s poor tour of Australia, Cook stated that the Three Lions had lost focus and were now confronting the serious flaws in their setup.
“They have been quite haphazard and gone on a whim. I like Rob Key and McCullum, how they think, but they have taken their eye off the ball for the bigger series. They drew with India, and India just got thumped by South Africa. The Indian side wasn’t great either, so reality has just hit this England Test team,” Cook told TNT Sports.
Earlier this year, England levelled the five-match Test series 2-2 against India. In the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the visitors were without their senior players, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Shubman Gill was captain for the first time, and arguably the world’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, could play in only three matches.
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Speaking after the first day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Alastair Cook felt that the team management under Rob Key and Brendon McCullum had made a big gap between the Test team and County cricket.
“The traditional values of Test cricket and selection are still important. They have totally and utterly said County cricket is irrelevant and there is a massive disconnect,” added Cook.
England have largely struggled with their batting in the Ashes 2025. Apart from Joe Root, none of the English batters have managed to score a century. Two of their top-three batters, including Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope, are yet to score a half-century. Contrastingly, Australia’s pacer Mitchell Starc has scored more runs and fifties in the Ashes 2025.
Most of the Test batters hadn’t played enough domestic cricket when not busy with international duties. Cook added that players who have performed well in County cricket should have been rewarded with international selection, instead of backing players based on their potential and talent.
With England down 3-0 in Ashes 2025 and struggling with both on-field issues and off-field controversies, McCullum’s bold approach is facing its toughest test. Questions are being raised about their planning, preparation, and mid-series breaks. The only way England can respond to this is with performances and wins.
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