Legendary pacer Glenn McGrath has reacted strongly to Australia’s overwhelming start to the ongoing Ashes 2025–26. In his BBC essay, McGrath expressed his dissatisfaction after England lost the second Test at Brisbane by eight wickets, giving the home team a 2-0 lead. He cautioned that the series might finish in humiliation if the visitors don’t win the next Test in Adelaide, with three Tests left.
After putting up a strong fight against the hosts in the 2023 Ashes, England had high expectations going into Australia. However, after being outplayed in every area, they are already behind 2-0 two Tests into the current series. Their “Bazball” strategy has come under scrutiny after their innings collapse in Perth and subsequent subpar performance in Brisbane. Australia, meanwhile, put up clinical performances in the first two games despite missing Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. “Even Australia would be shocked to hold a 2-0 lead after just six days of cricket,” Glenn McGrath said.
“This series isn’t dead, but it’s getting close. It will get embarrassing if England loses the third Test match in Adelaide. In the UK, I had a close-up look at England’s style during the 2023 Ashes. He stated, “There was a lot of scepticism in this country about the way England play, despite all the talk about this tour being their chance to finally win a series in Australia.”
Glenn McGrath went on to say that before collapsing, England had Australia under pressure in the Perth opening.
He claimed that this gave Australia more self-assurance going into Brisbane, when they taught England a lot about playing Test cricket, especially day-night cricket.
“After being dominated by England in the first Test match in Perth, they managed to pull off an amazing comeback. They were boosted with confidence before the second Test in Brisbane, where they taught England how to play Test cricket, especially day-night cricket. All of the Australians who had doubts about England are now being shown to be correct,” Glenn McGrath continued.
The former stated that while he has always appreciated England’s bold style, he now feels that it has become stiff, which has affected their results.
“I find England’s mentality to be rather appealing. I adore it when athletes play fearlessly because it allows them to push the limits of what is feasible. However, I disagree with the notion that expectations or pressure should be lifted. The finest teams hold each other accountable, and the best players flourish under duress. “Under some tough captains like Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting, I played for an Australian team that won a lot,” Glenn McGrath continued.
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