England Stumble And Bazball Crumbles, The 'Iconic Urn' Stays Back Down Under As Australia Win Ashes 4-1

England have failed to avoid the 'inevitable', that's the only way one can sum up the story of the 2025-26 edition of The Ashes. A three-year-long preparation and all the noise around making Test cricket entertaining has led to the English team losing The Ashes in a span of 11 days. Their only reprieve was the fourth Test match of the series which they won within two days, but apart from that, there isn't much to write or talk about England's positives from the series.

The last time England had visited Australia in 2021-22, they had lost the Ashes by 4-0. The only positive this time? England will return from Australia with a series that ended in a 4-1 result. Nothing much has changed in the Ben Stokes era as compared to the Joe Root era. Just one win in a span of five years? To comprehend the noise around England's red ball revolution? Bazball has always been a facade and 2023 World Test Champions Australia have exposed it completely.

Ashes 2025 In A Nutshell

• 1st Test, Perth: Australia won by 8 wickets
• 2nd Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 8 wickets
• 3rd Test, Melbourne: Australia won by 82 runs
• 4th Test, Adelaide: England won by 4 wickets
• 5th Test, Sydney: Australia won by 5 wickets

ALSO READ | Ex-English Skipper Backs Brendon McCullum, Feels England Cricket Is Unlikely To Go Through Any Key Leadership Change After The Great Ashes Debacle

Australia Grind England In Sydney

England should be given a benefit of doubt because they lost their best bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood to injury, but let's be honest and call a spade, a spade. The English bowlers did do their job well and helped the team be in great positions across five Test matches, barring the Sydney Test. Even the Australia bowlers looked toothless while bowling on the SCG turf.

It was England's batting that let them down yet again in Sydney. To be fair, England ditched their overrated 'Bazball' template in the Sydney Test, played time and situation and got in some good position, but they crumbled in the second innings again and it led to their downfall for the fourth time in the series. Apart from the 22-year-old Jacob Bethell who scored 154 runs off 265 balls in England's second innings, not even one English batter could score a fifty and it speaks volumes about England's red ball batting.

ALSO WATCH | Jacob Bethell's Father Sheds Tears Of Happiness Watching His Son Score Maiden Test And Ashes Hundred From The Stands In Sydney

World Test Championship Final: A Distant Dream For England

Ten matches, three wins, six losses and a draw, this is what Bazball has achieved in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2027 cycle. England played five home Test matches against a young Indian team that is going through a phase of transition and they couldn't win that series either. WTC 2027 Final is slowly becoming a distant dream for England and they'll need a quick turnaround if they have any aspirations to play that final.