England Eyes Ashes Turnaround After First Test Defeat
Brisbane, Australia - England is strategizing a path to recovery following a challenging first Test defeat against Australia in the Ashes 2025-26 series, with bowler Mark Wood acknowledging the team was “hit hard in round one.” Despite a promising bowling performance that restricted Australia to 132 all out on day one, a dramatic batting collapse derailed England’s momentum, leaving them facing an uphill battle in the series.
The defeat, marked by a stunning collapse of four wickets for 11 runs after lunch on day two while leading by 105, underscores the vulnerability of England’s batting lineup. The series, fiercely contested and carrying immense national pride, now hinges on England’s ability to regroup and exploit favorable conditions in upcoming matches. Wood emphasized the team’s belief in its ability to take 20 wickets, a strategy central to their approach in Australian conditions.
Wood highlighted the impact of England’s pace attack, the quickest since ball-tracking began in 2006, which unsettled key Australian batsmen like Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Cameron Green with a barrage of short deliveries. “I definitely feel this team has 20 wickets in it – the makeup of the team has been designed to take 20 wickets in these conditions,” Wood stated.
Looking ahead to the day-night Test in Brisbane, Wood anticipates leveraging the evening conditions to maximize the effectiveness of their pace attack. “As a bowling group,we can take a lot of confidence from that game and it being a day-night Test in Brisbane,we know around night time we can zip it around. And if we zip around at pace, that can make it challenging.” He acknowledged australia’s confidence boost from their win but vowed to respond with aggressive bowling. “Australia will have confidence from that win – as a group that will give them a lift. Batters will be more confident. it’s up to us as a bowling group to fight fire with fire and try to knock them over again.”
