Mark Butcher reacted to England’s humiliating defeat in Brisbane, claiming they were beaten by "basic Test match cricket" from Australia.
England went down 2-0 in the 2025/26 Ashes after they were handed an eight-wicket drubbing at the Gabba. They continued their pink-ball struggles, losing their sixth day-night Test out of eight, and struggled under lights, losing 11 wickets in their two night sessions of batting.
Australia, meanwhile, held their own despite missing a host of their first-choice picks, with all of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon unavailable or left out. They made easy work of Brendon McCullum’s side, and Butcher, speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, felt it was down to how the hosts stuck to basics, while England didn’t, saying:
“They've been beaten by a team with a stand-in captain, stand-in bowling attack, stand-in opening batter. And they've been beaten by old school determination, technique, hard work and discipline. So the sort of self-expression, the aggression, the vibes, and the talent, which is undoubted in the England side, has been beaten by just basic Test match cricket - bowlers holding a line and length, batters playing for their off stump and digging in when conditions were tough and having fun when it wasn't so much, and taking catches. No more, no less.
“They’ve been out-basiced by a very workmanlike Australian XI. And if you’re going to get beat on a fair pitch against a team like that, then God help us when they get their first XI back.”
Jake Weatherald scored his maiden Test fifty, Michael Neser picked up a maiden Test five-for, and every Australian batter scored in double digits, without anyone hitting a ton, in the first innings. Mitchell Starc, in the absence of his regular fast-bowling partners, picked up eight wickets in the Test and also scored 77, Australia’s top score in the game.
Australia also ensured they did not lose wickets in a bunch, with all but one of their 10 partnerships in the first innings surviving at least seven overs. England, on the other hand, only had eight such partnerships.
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