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England legend Geoffrey Boycott slammed Ben Stokes-led England after their 8-wicket defeat against Australia in the first of the Ashes 2025-26 at the Perth International Stadium in Perth on Saturday, November 22. Boycott said he cannot take the England team 'seriously anymore' as he criticised them for their 'stupid' mistakes in the game.
Travis Head slammed a stunning century to help Australia chase down the target of 205 runs comfortably in their second innings on Day 2 and record a thumping victory to go 1-0 up in the series. After fast bowlers dominated the proceedings in the first three innings of the Test match, Head's phenomenal ton turned the game in Australia's favour as the game ended inside two days.
Reacting to England's defeat in the series opener in Perth, Boycott took a dig at skipper Stokes' comments about former cricketers' criticism of their tactics before the start of the series. Boycott said England are in their own bubble and are not willing to adapt, which has led to their downfall in Tests.
"Before this series started Ben Stokes told the world that any ex-player who criticised them or had a different opinion were "has-beens" because Test cricket had changed and the past was irrelevant. Well, from this has been the message is simple: when you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things it is impossible to take you seriously. They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity," the former England cricketer wrote in his his column for The Telegraph UK.
England were on top in the Test match after bowling out Australia for a paltry 132, in response to their first-innings total of 172 runs. The visitors managed to secure a crucial lead of 40 runs, but ended up suffering another batting collapse in their second innings as they could only set up a 205-run target for the hosts.
After a strong 65-run stand from Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for the second wicket, England had the chance to post a big total on the board and set a huge target for Australia. However, they ended up getting bundled out for 164 as the likes of Joe Root, Harry Brook and skipper Stokes all failed to deliver.
Boycott blamed 'brainless' batting and bowling by England for their 8-wicket defeat in the Perth Test as he slammed the visitors for their batting collapse in the second innings. The England great also targeted Bazball as he explained how Stokes & Co.'s overconfidence can cost them against the big teams.
"It is simple. Brainless batting and bowling lost England the match. A 40-run lead on a fast bouncy low scoring pitch was huge and with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope together at one stage England were in charge at effectively 100 for one. But as exciting as this England team can be, they are always only a blink of an eye away from self destruction," wrote Boycott.
"Bazball, bad judgement, overconfidence, whatever the reason it makes winning matches difficult. Against top teams like India and Australia it is a huge factor in losing," he added.
Head blew England away with his blistering ton to power Australia to a thumping victory in the first Test in Perth. Asked to open the innings in the absence of injured Usman Khawaja, Head took the attack on the England bowlers after getting a hang of the conditions.
He smashed the second-fastest ton in Ashes history off just 69 balls and finished with a cracking 123 off 83 balls, laced with 16 fours and four sixes. He also set the world record for the fastest century by any batter in the 4th innings chase of a Test match. Thanks to his incredible knock, Australia chased down the 205-run target in just 28.2 overs to go 1-0 up in the series.
