Test cricket is riveting to watch, and when it is the oldest and most durable one in the game, namely, the Ashes, it is the pinnacle in this format. The Test rivalry between Australia and England got the name “Ashes” from a satirical obituary in a British newspaper after Australia won for the first time on English soil at the Oval in 1882. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and that “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.”

The contest generally has five Test matches and is hosted in turn by Australia and England every two years. Australia currently holds the Ashes urn, having been the winner in 2017, and since then, the series contests have either been won by Australia or drawn, meaning the holders retain the Ashes urn.

Image: Mitchell Starc celebrates a wicket (left); and England skipper Ben Stokes walks back after an injury

Overall, Australia won 35 series and England 32 series, with 7 drawn ones over the 142 years of the series. It is a fierce rivalry, wherein, even to use a lighter note, in the backyards of Australia, when the famous Aussies – the Chappell brothers – played in their formative and teenage years, the elder brother Ian used to call himself Australia and the younger one Greg had to be England against his wish.

Major cricketing teams find it very challenging to win the series in Australian soil, as evidenced by England’s struggles to win even a Test, let alone a series, for 15 long years. The Aussies, too, have found it incredibly difficult, having failed to win a Test series outright in England since 2001, although they managed to retain the Ashes twice in 2019 and 2023, with two drawn series.

Anatomy of the Ashes 2025-26 win

The most highly anticipated Ashes series in modern times was the 2025-26 Ashes in Australia, where the interest levels and the hype were pumped up to the brim by the media, particularly the English media.

Having failed to garner a Test win in Australia since 2010-11, the English team management has been insisting that the “Bazball” mantra – a media term used for the style of fast-paced cricket that England has played from 2022 onwards – would be the key to success in Australia. This tour, hence, was the ultimate test of the mission to win the urn back on Australian soil.

On the other hand, the Australian team were focussed on reliable and sufficient preparation leading into the series, with their key players playing in the domestic red ball matches before getting into the Test match groove.

The home side was expected to miss their marquee player and captain Pat Cummins, for the first half of the series due to the back injury he picked up a few months back in the Caribbean. Cummins was under intense rehabilitation even as they lost another veteran, quick bowler Josh Hazlewood, a few days before the series opener.

Despite these setbacks, Australia romped home with a 4-1 resolute win to retain the Ashes. The Aussies won the first and second tests by 8 wickets, the third with a solid 82 runs and the final one with 5 wickets. The England team’s sole consolation was the win in the fourth test. The media had variously reported the match as ‘historic,’ ‘chaotic,’ ‘bizarre,’ ‘absurd’ and ‘staggering’ for what was a two-day affair.  

The Boxing Day match in Melbourne was ‘historic’ as it ended England’s 18-match winless streak against Australia, which stretched for over 18 years. Having wrecked through the Australian batting line-up with the ‘Bazball’ in what was reported as ‘devilish’ batting conditions, England finished off the test in two days, thus creating another history of being only the second test to finish in two days since 1921, with the other one earlier in the same series.

Image: Alex Carey and Cameroon Green celebrate after the final win in Sydney (left); and a scramble during the Sydney match (right)

Despite this one-match digression, the Aussies dominated the 2025-26 with an all-round show that saw not just the Mitchell Starc magic in full flow, but also an impactful comeback by skipper Cummins.

In the series opener at Perth, on November 21st, Starc, shouldering in the additional responsibilities, struck in the first over of the series itself, with a wicket in the final ball. Crushing the spirits of England's batting, he sliced through their batting line-up with a 7-wicket haul for a meagre 58 runs, churning out his career-best performance in an innings.

Bowled out for 172, the English pacers fought back remarkably with one of the best combined hostile spells from the five pacers under an inspirational captain Stokes as the home team were bundled out for 132. By lunch on day 2 of the game, England had taken a lead of 109 runs with the loss of only one wicket and seemed on course to repeat what India did to Australia at the same venue 12 months back.

Scott Boland took out the cream of the English batting order as Starc added to their misery by taking both veterans Root and Stokes for the second time in the match. England were bowled for 164 as Starc took 10 scalps in the match. Set for 205 runs, the Australian management pulled a rabbit out of the hat with Travis Head opening the batting, and leading the assault with a 123 off 83 balls and Australia romping home in just 28 overs.

Image: Both sides celebrating wickets

Having picked up the wobble seam delivery from Cummins and Hazlewood, Starc was slated for a spectacular show at the pink ball Day/Night Test at the Gabba ground in Brisbane. Though England’s Joe Root made his first hundred on Australian shores at Gabba, Starc marvelled with a range of wobble seam, pace and swing and a 6-wicket haul and 18 in two outings.

Australia’s batting, in response, saw a rare achievement of all 11 players scoring in double digits, a first for them in 33 years. Faced with an Australian total of 511, the English batting was exposed under the lights in front of Boland, Neser and Starc as the visitors lost by eight wickets.

The third at Adelaide Oval saw the inspiring return of Cummins, even as the visitors were evidently on the verge of losing one more Ashes series on Australian shores. While Alex Carey’s fine century defined the Aussies’ first innings of 371, Archer’s five-wicket haul was the strong point for England. Cummins, in response, bowled with top-class control and variation on a baking hot day with only the England skipper Stokes (83) and Brook (45) managing any resistance.

Armed with an 85-run lead and a 170 by the talisman Travis Head, Australia set a target of 435 runs. Despite a fine performance by Zak Crawley for the visitors, the Aussie bowlers sliced through the top order, with Cummins, for the 13th time in Tests, dismissing Joe Root. But for one final resistance from Jamie Smith, Cummins and Starc literally sealed the Ashes in this third match itself, winning by 82 runs and an unbeaten 3-0 lead.

For the fourth of the series, the Boxing Day Test, Cummins was rested as the sole winner for England. The visitors won the toss with Stokes deciding to bowl on the greener-looking pitch with 10 mm grass. Josh Tongue, with his five-wicket haul, bowled out Australia for 152. In return, the Aussie bowlers wrapped up England for 100, with a total of 19 wickets falling on the first day.  

The same continued on Day 2 as the visitors shot the home team out for 132. The target for England for a rare and elusive win on Australian shores was 175, and they were able to get home by 4 wickets. As mentioned earlier, this was the second game in the five-match series that had ended in two days.

In the final outing at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), the Aussies wanted to stamp their authority on the series for a 4-1 result, with the contest running for the full five days. Joe Root, with a sublime 160 and Harry Brook, making a fine 84, led the English charge of 384. Travis Head led the Australian response with a run-a-ball knock of 163 from Travis Head, along with Steve Smith’s 138, providing a precious 183 runs first innings lead.

England’s second innings was built around youngster Jacob Bethell, with origins from Barbados and drawing parallels with Brian Lara.  Despite his 154 runs, Australia needed to chase down only 160 runs to wind up the series and retain the cup at home.

Takeaways from Ashes 2025-26

The Ashes started with a lot of expectations, especially from the English team, with varied interest in whether England, under “Bazball,” would be able to lord over a good but ageing and injury-prone Australian side on their soil. The 4-1 scoreline in favour of Australia illustrated the gulf between the two sides.

Image: Travis Head (left) and Usman Khwaja (right) spearheaded the Australian attack

Moving up pinch-hitter Travis Head from No. 5 in the batting order to the opener slot in the second innings of the first Test paid rich dividends with 629 runs, including three brilliant hundreds. His knock in the game in Perth had such an impact that England bowlers never really recovered from the trauma. Root and Brook were the leading run scorers from England.

In the absence of two prime bowlers in Cummins (who played only one game) and Hazlewood, it was up to the veteran Starc to seal the deal for Australia. Starc scalped 18 wickets in the first two Tests, made early breakthroughs in the first over at least four times during this series and 27 times in his career.

Starc also come in with effective second and third spells, while keeping up the pace and intensity, and delivering breakthroughs.

In snuffing out the ‘Bazball,’ Starc was well supported by Scott Boland with 20 wickets. Special mention is reserved for the Australian wicket keeper Alex Carey, who averaged 46 with the bat, making critical contributions. Yet, it is his work behind the stumps – 27 catches plus a stumping- that attracted much appreciation.

England had no consistency in all the facets of the game throughout the tour – except for the spell on day 1 in Perth when the bowlers never sustained pressure. The fielding was diabolical, with 17 chances spilled and the batsmen, in particular Jamie Smith and Harry Brook, being guilty of throwing away their wickets at critical moments when it looked like the team was getting into a good position.

Image: Hazlewood (left) and Starc (right) bled the English lineup throughout the series

The only shining light for them was young Bethell, who played only in the final two games, and Josh Tongue, the quick bowler who featured in the last three games.

Australia, despite missing veterans Cummins, Hazlewood, Smith and Lyon at various stages were able to pull off the high-pressure series. Good quality contributions by different players throughout ensured that the Aussies were always ahead. It illustrated the team approach from the quality side.

Domestic performers who are past 30 years in age, like Webster and Neser, are rewarded by selectors, and they have repaid the faith with excellent contributions. Cummins and Lyon had a great impact on the Test they won at Adelaide, which sealed the urn for the home team.

Australia was able to win all the critical moments in the matches, plus factor in the strategy they had in various games like in Perth and Brisbane. The Aussies knew the times when they had to slow down or bat long enough in the first two sessions before the pink ball and night session of the Brisbane Test, and so on.

Australia have won 4 consecutive home Ashes series by comfortable margins from the 2013-14 season onwards. The matches across the length and breadth of the vast country of Australia were jam-packed, with record attendances, which was also enhanced by the travelling fans of the England team meant that it was always a festive atmosphere in the venues.

World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle

As for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, Australia continues at the top of the table with 7 wins in 8 games, and is looking primed for a third consecutive final.

The Aussies have a key series coming up in South Africa, followed by four Tests at home against New Zealand. Thereafter, the world champions will embark on a five-Test tour of India in early 2027. For the WTC cycle, Australia will need to win 7 of the 14 Tests remaining for a probable qualification to the tournament’s final.

England, on the other hand, continues to languish at the bottom with a fair bit of catching up to do if they have dreams of qualifying for the final. England still have good chance if it wins at home against New Zealand and Pakistan. Besides pushing them up the table, the English tour of South Africa by the end of this year will also be crucial, especially with the favourable records the England team have in South Africa in recent years.

India, currently standing at 6th in the WTC table, plays only 4 Tests in 2026 – two Tests each in Sri Lanka and New Zealand before they play Australia at home in five games for the Border Gavaskar trophy in early 2027. Historically, the New Zealand tours have been challenging for India. India will need to win 8 of these 9 Tests to qualify for the WTC final.

Among other key teams, South Africa remains strongly in the race. The Proteas will play Australia and England at home and Sri Lanka away this year. Similarly, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, with many matches on the anvil, are fairly in the race.

In effect, the WTC can undergo further changes. Yet, going by the Ashes show, Australia looks like one team which has a very good chance to make the final in 2027 at Lord’s. The 2026-27 season will throw up many more close contests that will define the journey towards the final lap of the WTC.

Follow us on WhatsApp 

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on X @vudmedia

Follow us on Substack