India legend Sunil Gavaskar is not surprised at all by England’s heavy defeat to Australia by a 4-1 margin in the recently concluded Ashes series 2025/26.
In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar wrote: “England’s performances in most sports are a huge let-down when set against the write-ups their teams receive from people who have hardly, if ever, played any sport at the highest level. The disappointment, therefore, is far greater when the teams show that they are more paper tigers than real ones. England’s capitulation to Australia by a 4-1 margin was, therefore, not really a surprise for the non-English. It is extremely tough for visiting teams to win a Test series anywhere, especially in Australia and India. India themselves, however, were beaten comprehensively by New Zealand a couple of years ago and by South Africa late last year.”
England were no match for the Aussies except in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which they won.
However, that Test was termed a ‘lottery’ by many experts, as the pitch was extremely difficult for batting and the match finished within two days.
England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes were criticised for their plans and approach throughout the series. Some experts even urged their removal.
According to Gavaskar: “McCullum brought the same freshness to England’s cricket, and that took the rest of the cricketing world by surprise. Gone was the dreary, dull cricket they played, and suddenly, the opposition did not know how to counter it. However, as with so-called mystery bowlers, the surprise wore off. Once teams realised that England had little answer whenever the ball deviated, provided the pitches were not flat, the problems became evident.”
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