Before the Adelaide Test, Australia’s bowling legend Glenn McGrath issued a warning to England.
After arriving in Australia with high expectations, England suffered heavy defeats in the first two Tests and now face the prospect of losing the series. Speaking ahead of the remaining three matches, McGrath warned that “if Ben Stokes and his team don’t win in Adelaide, the series could end embarrassingly.”
England’s start to the series has been disastrous. They were bowled out inside two days in the first Test at Perth. In the Brisbane day-night Test, they showed some fight but still succumbed to another heavy defeat. Australia won both matches by eight wickets, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
For the past eight years, the Ashes trophy, famously called the ‘Urn,’ has remained with Australia. Even when England had a chance to reclaim it at home in 2023, they fell short, finishing the series 2-2 and leaving the trophy with Australia.
Since the 2010–11 season, England have not won a series on Australian soil, nor have they won any Test matches there. Hopes of ending that drought were raised before the series, but those chances have now largely faded.
Historically, England have only won the Ashes after losing the first two matches once, in the 1936–37 series led by Don Bradman’s Australia.
England’s aggressive short-ball tactics have also faced criticism. McGrath previously predicted that Australia’s successors might whitewash England this series. In his column for the BBC on Tuesday, the former pacer wrote that doubts about England’s style of play existed even before the tour.
“The outcome of this series is not decided yet, but it is not far away. If England cannot win the third Test in Adelaide, then it will be embarrassing. I saw England’s style of play up close during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Even before this tour to Australia, there was much discussion about England’s chances of winning the series, but there were also many doubts about how they play.”
Australia claimed commanding wins in the first two Tests without captain Pat Cummins and pacer Josh Hazlewood. McGrath believes even in their wildest dreams, Australia would not have imagined leading the series 2-0 after just six days of cricket.
“England put them under pressure in the first Test at Perth, but Australia bounced back remarkably. Before the second Test in Brisbane, their confidence grew even more, and they showed England how to play Test cricket, especially day-night Tests. Those who had doubts about England’s performance are now being proven right.”
