‘Carelessly squandered’: Wisden scolds England’s tumultuous Ashes tour

The latest edition of Wisden is ­unsparing in its criticism of England’s Test team, describing their Ashes defeat in Australia as a “wing-and-a-prayer” campaign that ended up “feckless, reckless and legless”.

Published this Thursday, the sport’s longstanding bible has a strong Indian flavour to its awards. Haseeb Hameed, captain of title-winning Nottinghamshire, is the sole Englishman among the five ­players of the year, with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and ­Mohammed Siraj recognised for their roles in last year’s memorable 2-2 Test series draw in England.

But the nature of England’s 4-1 defeat in Australia – a tour derailed by a poor buildup, lurching tactics, and accusations of an unprofessional approach off the field – leads this year’s notes, with the editor, Lawrence Booth, saying it is “hard to think of a privilege so carelessly squandered, a chance so blithely spurned”.

Booth writes: “Much of the misery was self-inflicted: from the paper-thin preparation, via a string of ­schoolboy dismissals, to the revelation of Harry Brook’s scrape with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand. England were feckless, reckless and legless.”

Harry Brook (left) and Brendon McCullum have faced fierce criticism since the series defeat in Australia. Photograph: Rafiq Maqbool/AP

A trip supposed to define an era, described by Brendon McCullum as “the biggest series of all our lives”, descended into dilettantism.

“Without a fielding coach, England dropped catches. Without a wicketkeeping coach, Jamie Smith looked lost. Without a long-term bowling coach, the attack were rudderless. Without a batting coach preaching smarter strokeplay, only three ­players averaged over 28.

“ These were the wing-and-a-prayer Ashes, and England got what they deserved.”

England’s decision to bury the news of Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand during the tour that preceded the Ashes – something that came to light after the defeat in Sydney – is described as “another level of stupidity”. “No one could accuse England of operating in a high-­performance environment.” Booth says.

In contrast to that incident, and England’s headline-generating mid-series break in Noosa, was Mitchell Starc choosing to abstain from ­alcohol for the duration of the campaign. It helped the 36-year-old claim 31 wickets at 19.9 – 55 at 17 in 2025 – and be named as Wisden’s leading men’s cricketer in the world.

Mitchell Starc was the leading bowler in the Ashes, taking 31 wickets. Photograph: Joel Carrett/EPA

The equivalent award in the women’s game goes to Deepti Sharma, having helped power India to glory in the Women’s Cricket World Cup with 215 runs at 30 and 22 wickets at 20 – an ­unprecedented double by a man or woman.

Abhishek Sharma is named the leading T20 cricketer in the world after scoring more than 1,000 runs in 2025 at faster than two a ball. Gill also picks up the Wisden Trophy – the best performance of the year – for scoring 430 runs in two innings during India’s Test win at Edgbaston.