LONDON, UK: England’s calamitous descent into defeat on the second day of the first Ashes Test of the 2025-26 series at Perth was an embarrassment for their players, management and supporters.
Amidst the pre-series hype, injuries to key Australian players had given renewed hope for England’s chances of victory. Early on the second day, England were 105 runs ahead with nine second-innings wickets remaining.
They slumped to 164 all out and Australia then raced to its target of 205 in 28.2 overs, a brutal slap down of England’s hopes. This was mainly due to Travis Head, who was promoted to open the innings because the usual opener was injured. He scored 123 runs from 83 deliveries.
In the 2,609 Test matches played to date, it was only the 27th to have been completed in two days. Eleven of these were prior to 1914, when pitch conditions were difficult. Only England, Australia and South Africa, who were not a strong team, played Test cricket in that era.
Since 2017, there have been seven Tests completed in two days. Criticism of England’s performance at Perth has fallen on the batters, their technique and their attitude toward batting. Much has been made of the latter under the current management regime which encourages freedom of expression, a positive attacking approach, and an exhortation to eschew a fear of failure.
