Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed England’s batting approach after the tourists were bundled out cheaply on the opening day of the 2025-26 Ashes in Perth.
England bowled out for 172 in Ashes opener
The start of the innings evoked vivid memories of England’s last tour of Australia for the 2021-22 Ashes. Once again, Mitchell Starc took the new ball, and once again, he set the tone. Back in 2021-22, Starc had ignited the series with a dramatic first-ball dismissal of Rory Burns, sending shockwaves through the England camp. On Friday, the script felt familiar: Starc struck in the opening over yet again, this time removing Zak Crawley for a duck, giving Australia another perfect start.
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England refused to scale back their hyper-aggressive approach even as wickets kept falling around them, the tourists crashing to 115-5 by the 25th over. Vice-captain Harry Brook tried to drag the innings forward with a counterattacking fifty, peppering the boundary with five fours and a six. But his resistance ended when debutant Brendan Doggett induced an edge him through to keeper Alex Carey with a short ball, dismissing him for a 61-ball 52.
From 160-5, England unravelled quickly, losing their last five wickets for just 12 runs to be bowled out for 172. Mitchell Starc, leading the attack in the absence of the injured Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, tore through the innings with career-best figures of 7-58.
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'It's all just too predictable'
Vaughan, speaking on commentary, was unimpressed with England’s approach and branded their final phase of batting as "too predictable".
"Last 20 minutes, 25 minutes of England's batting – that's not good enough. It's all just too predictable," Vaughan said.
"You know, you go back 20-odd minutes ago, where Brendan Doggett was bowling to Harry Brook, and they went to the short ball theory to get him. And you know, the last few dismissals? It's just poor. It really is a disappointment. 'Bazball with brains'? Well, Bazball has arrived; they forgot the other bit."
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England’s innings lasted just 32.5 overs – their shortest since head coach Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge of the Test side. The previous low was 33.3 overs against Pakistan in Multan in 2024. The scoring rate of 5.23 per over was also their second fastest in Australia, narrowly behind the 5.24 they managed in Sydney in 2014, when they were bowled out for 166 in 31.4 overs.
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