“Brainless batting and bowling” - Geoffrey Boycott lashes out at England after eight-wicket defeat in Perth

Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has slammed the Ben Stokes-led England cricket team after they suffered an eight-wicket defeat in the first Test against Australia in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26 campaign.

Writing his exclusive column for The Telegraph UK, Boycott asserted that it was brainless batting and bowling, which resulted in a comfortable eight-wicket win for Australia to start the Ashes on a winning note. 

"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,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph UK.

“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity. Now it has bitten them in an Ashes Test, the biggest challenge of all, and unless they mount a spectacular comeback, they will regret it for a very long time. 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," he went on to write.

"But as exciting as this England team can be, they are always only a blink of an eye away from self-destruction. Duckett got a good ball, but Pope gave it away for the second time in this match, driving at a very wide ball outside off stump. How can he not realise it is a sucker ball tempting him to do something daft? England were still in a great position and crying out for someone to occupy the crease with common-sense batting,” he wrote.

“In comes Harry Brook. Three balls and he flashes on the up at a wide ball and is gone for nought. And to make it worse England’s best batsman, Joe Root, couldn’t stop himself from trying an extravagant drive on the up at Mitchell Starc going across him with his hands well away from his body. Inside edge and bowled. Stokes got a good ‘un from Starc and in no time at all England had gone from euphoria to the depths of despair. England lost the initiative and momentum had swung to Australia in the time it takes to make a cup of tea," he concluded his column.

With a 205-run target in the fourth innings, Australia sealed the deal in only 28.2 overs, courtesy of Travis Head's 123-run knock off 83 balls with 16 fours and four sixes. England will next lock horns with Australia in the second Test of the five-match series, starting on Thursday, December 4, in Brisbane. 

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