The Ashes 2025-26: Jonathan Agnew on England’s preparation before second Test

When we heard England were considering sending some players to Canberra for the Lions game, we assumed it would be those in need of practice.

The three they are sending – Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts – did not feature in the first Test in Perth and seem highly unlikely to play in the second in Brisbane. It is a bizarre situation.

England’s original plan was not to send anyone for the game against the Prime Minister’s XI, so little has changed. The likes of Zak Crawley, Joe Root and Harry Brook, who appear to need some time at the crease, will be off to Brisbane to bat in the nets.

England are responsible for their preparation and their performances on the field. They are responsible for giving it their best shot of winning the Ashes. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Australia are a superb team in day-night Tests – they have won 13 of their 14 pink-ball matches. Mitchell Starc is outstanding in those conditions.

Just because Australia are accustomed to these matches and England are not, it does not mean England cannot win.

But there is a huge question about whether England would be better prepared playing a game under lights than spending time in the nets in Brisbane.

England – the management, players and administrators – will be held to account at the end of the Ashes if their plans do not work.

In the aftermath of the heavy defeat in the first Test I have been struck by the genuine anger among supporters.

People have spent a lot of money and there is real frustration, a depth of feeling I don’t think I have seen before. The England team ignore that at their peril.

It was the worst defeat of an England team I have seen in a Test in this country. They should have won. Instead, the game was tossed away calamitously and feebly.

I know there has been quite a lot of reaction to the interview Ben Stokes gave to me straight after the match ended. I am not upset if he was a little tetchy. His team had just been humiliated in front of 50,000 people, so to then have to speak to TV and radio is incredibly difficult.

Stokes told me his team works hard. I cannot disagree with him. We see them train and know they give it absolutely everything. They are supremely fit. Potts looks like he should be in the SAS.

Does that mean they can go out and play cricket well? Are England working hard on the right things?

Under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England have decided they are going to play in a certain way. They say it is a method that gives them the best chance of winning.

Is that correct? It did not work in the fifth Test against India at The Oval, a game they should have won. It has not worked here.

When Stokes and McCullum took over, their attitude was a breath of fresh air. It was what England needed after a depressing run of one win in 17 Tests. Across 18 months they played some exhilarating cricket, shredding bowling attacks.

Supporters fell back in love with the England team, which was vital for the health of the game in our country.

However, there were some of us who knew the method was unsustainable. The mood around England was positive, so the dissenters stayed quiet.

But the teams England beat in those early months of the Stokes-McCullum regime were not of the highest quality. They have played three five-Test series and not won any of them. In their past 14 Tests, England have more defeats than wins – seven to six.

Over the course of 150 years of Test cricket history there is a reason why successful batting has been built of solid defence, not sailing down the pitch and taking a swipe at the bowling.

I have spoken to a number of former Australia players since the first Test ended. One problem they identified is a lack of accountability in the England set-up.

«That’s the way we play,» is a mantra of this England team and it is one of their failings.

There should be some reflection on what happened in Perth, looking at what happened in a mature fashion.

The shots Brook was playing were from the third XI of a village team. He needs to grow up. Compare Brook with the wonderful innings of Travis Head. There is a huge difference between recklessness and controlled aggression.

We have laboured the point about England’s limited preparation, but a lot of what we feared came true in the first Test.

When it was announced that England had only one warm-up game against the Lions, we could have predicted how wickets would fall in the first Test: edging rising deliveries outside off stump by attempting to play booming drives. Look what happened.

A lot of the anger aimed at England comes from a feeling they do not care. Supporters see the way these England players get out and think it does not matter to them.

I can categorically say it is not true. The players care deeply. In the aftermath of the Test I saw Crawley in a cafe. He had just bagged a pair, facing only 11 balls in the match.

He looked utterly miserable, sitting there like a man with a contagious disease. He was certainly not out having a good time, or playing 18 holes on the golf course.

The golf narrative is another I can defend England from. When they train, they train hard. What are they supposed to do for the rest of the day? Sit in their hotel rooms watching Netflix? There is nothing wrong with being in the fresh air, doing something to take the mind away from cricket.

England are only 1-0 down. It would be madness to write them off in this series. One thing they can take from Perth is they exposed some vulnerabilities in the Australia team.

But Stokes, McCullum and the rest must pick themselves up and understand the right way to go about things in Brisbane.

I once played in a one-day international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where we got trounced by seven wickets. We walked off in front of 85,000 people knowing we had been thoroughly outplayed. I never wanted to experience that feeling again.

This England team will have gone through the same in Perth and should now be determined not to have a repeat in Brisbane.

A result at the Gabba is vital. If England go 2-0 down, jobs and careers will be on the line.

Jonathan Agnew was talking to BBC Sport chief cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt