‘They couldn’t win the egg cup’: Former England captains and players slam Ben Stokes and his men for shambolic show in Ashes 2025-26

“I actually felt like we overprepared, to be honest. We had five intense training days, and I think sometimes when you’re in the heat of the battle, the most important thing is to feel a little bit fresh. I think the boys just need a few days off and probably need to change up a few of the training methods a little bit,” McCullum said after the loss.

The defeat was also marred by other incidents, including Jofra Archer walking into the Gabba with a pillow in hand, which found a strong reaction from former Australian opening batter Matthew Hayden, who called it a “shocking look”.

The defeat at Brisbane that puts them 0-2 down led to several strong reactions from former England captains and players, many of whom questioned various aspects such as preparation, resilience and an unwillingness to change.

Michael Atherton – The Times

“McCullum, for sure, knew what he was saying with his “overprepared” line. It was not a slip of the tongue, as he repeated it to various outlets. He may have been trying to deflect attention from his players onto himself, but that is probably overthinking matters. What is clear, which is something Stokes also reiterated after defeat, is that he wants energies channelled into the white heat of competition rather than the build-up to it”.

Nasser Hussain – The Athletic

“Whether you want to talk about ‘Bazball’ or the style of play, they are just not playing good enough cricket. If someone had told you before this Ashes that Australia would have been without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, and then also Nathan Lyon in the second Test, you would have thought England would have a real chance here. But they have still been outplayed.”

Sir Ian Botham – Triple M

“They missed a trick. They could have sent the team that was playing in this Test to Canberra, and then at least they would have had some experience with the pink ball. What did they do? ‘Well, we don’t need to. ‘ Well, I suggest you do need to. You dropped five catches. They could’ve been ahead (in the game). If I was an England supporter and I’d paid the money to come here, I’d be asking the ECB for a refund.”

Sir Geoffrey Boycott – The Telegraph

“England talk the talk but can’t walk the walk. With this sort of batting and bowling, they couldn’t win an egg cup. Ben Stokes said England had a blueprint. They had been planning this tour for four years and know what they are doing. What a load of bullshit. We can’t believe anything Ben or his team say. None of them want to listen to anyone outside of their own camp,”.

Michael Vaughan – The Telegraph

“In English cricket, we gift our players a lot quickly. Until English cricket addresses all this and remembers that Test cricket is a tough game that does not allow for shortcuts, the mediocrity will continue. You hear suggestions of weak men. That is what our system has created.”

Mark Butcher – Wisden

“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. No more, no less. 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.”

Jonathan Agnew – BBC

“To me, the Bazball message is dead. That does not mean the personnel has to change or regimes need to be swept aside – those decisions will come at the end of the series – but it means there has been a realisation by England that the way in which they play their Test cricket must be altered.”