Ashes Newsfile
Kevin Pietersen calls for Andy Flower to return in charge of England
Maverick former batter expresses "WILD thought" in wake of latest Ashes humiliation
ESPNcricinfo staff
09-Jan-2026
England's latest Ashes defeat down under may well lead to the usual recriminations and bloodletting, but could it help heal divisions within the English game, too?
A day after England went down 4-1 after a five-wicket loss in Sydney, Kevin Pietersen took to X to call for the team's former head coach, Andy Flower, to return. Yes, that's the same Flower who Pietersen branded a "mood hoover" after they fell out on the 2013-14 Ashes tour, leading to Pietersen's banishment.
Pietersen has long since retired but seems keen to put aside his well-documented differences with Flower, who since leaving the England job has carved out a successful coaching career on the T20 franchise circuit.
Full postPaine: Don't write off dangerous England in Ashes yet
The former Australia captain believes conditions at Adelaide Oval could suit Ben Stokes' team
AAP
11-Dec-2025
Tim Paine likes ripping into England's cricketers as much as any Australian, but says it's folly to write off the tourists in the Ashes just yet.
The former Australia captain believes the third Test venue, Adelaide Oval, is perfectly suited to England's gung-ho approach which has spectacularly backfired so far.
Australia hold a 2-0 series lead entering the Adelaide Test starting next Wednesday and while Paine has found some humour in England's troubles, he's wary.
Full post'Wear a helmet next time' - England play down scootergate
Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith and Mark Wood were pictured riding e-scooters without wearing helmets in Brisbane
AAP
03-Dec-2025
Ollie Pope says England have learned their lesson after a handful of players were photographed riding e-scooters without helmets during their Ashes tour.
English captain Ben Stokes, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and injured paceman Mark Wood were pictured riding scooters around Brisbane in the lead-up to the second Test match that begins Thursday.
Queensland Government rules don't require helmets for those using human-powered scooters, but they must be worn when riding the motorised variety. Section 256A(1) of Queensland's road rules state that e-scooter riders can face a fine of AU$166 (£83 approx.) for failing to wear a helmet without an exemption.
Full postPink-ball Test could be 'a lottery', warns Broad
England head to the Gabba looking for a way back into the Ashes after opening defeat in Perth
ESPNcricinfo staff
28-Nov-2025
Stuart Broad believes the second Test between England and Australia, a day-night game in Brisbane which will be played with a pink ball, is likely to be a "bit of a lottery" that could be determined by the toss.
England will go to the Gabba 1-0 down and looking for a way back into the Ashes, having not played a pink-ball Test since early 2023. England's record in day-night Tests is played seven, lost five, won two, while two of their likely XI - Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson - have never played a first-class game with the pink ball.
Australia, meanwhile, have won 13 out of 14 (although their one defeat came against West Indies in Brisbane last year).
Full postHead feared riling England's quicks during Perth onslaught
Emergency opener climbed onto the offensive against one of the fastest attacks in England's history
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Nov-2025
Travis Head has admitted that his main concern, while blazing Australia to victory in the first Ashes Test at Perth, was the fear of retribution after climbing into England's fast bowlers with an astonishing innings of 123 from 83 balls.
Head's onslaught as an emergency opener sealed Australia's eight-wicket victory inside two days, and included 16 fours and four sixes as he rushed along to a century in 69 balls, the second-fastest in Ashes history behind Adam Gilchrist's 57-ball effort at the WACA in 2006-07.
It turned the contest on its head after England's pace attack, featuring four bowlers capable of speeds in excess of 90mph/145kph, had bowled Australia out for 132 inside 46 overs of their first innings.
Full postPerth boss: Australia, England should have played extra game
A crowd of 50,000 was expected for the third day of the opening Test, resulting in significant refunds
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Nov-2025
The boss of Perth Stadium has argued that Australia and England should have played an extra match after the opening Ashes Test ended on the second day.
After record attendances across the two days, a crowd of 50,000 was expected for Sunday. The short finish is expected to have cost Cricket Australia in the region of AU$3-4 million in refunds and lost revenue, while for Perth itself it left the city short of high-profile cricket. It was the second-shortest result Test ever in Australia.
Mike McKenna, who was previously the inaugural boss of the Big Bash, has said that an extra match should have been arranged to compensate those with tickets.
Full postFood charities benefit from Perth Test catering surplus
Biggest donation ever made in Western Australia following two-day finish at Optus Stadium
ESPNcricinfo staff
26-Nov-2025
Australia's two-day victory in the first Ashes Test at Perth has led to a record donation of surplus catering supplies to Western Australia's leading food rescue service.
More than 51,000 spectators had attended the opening day of the series, and according to The Guardian, 20 pallets of fruit and vegetables, four pallets of sandwiches and salads, two pallets of bread and four pallets of milk and dairy, totalling hundreds of kilos, were donated to OZHarvest after the match, making it the single biggest single donation ever received in Western Australia.
"Every effort has been made to maximise food recovery," Mike McKenna, Optus Stadium's chief executive, said. "Our chefs are busy turning about 450kg of sliced tomatoes into passata, some of the excess milk will become white sauce and lemon wedges preserved for future use. Being able to support those in need is really a silver lining for the stadium team."
Full postRoot on Ashes challenge: 'It's not about me, it's about us collectively'
England's senior batter takes the responsibility in his stride as he gears up for Perth Test
ESPNcricinfo staff
20-Nov-2025
Joe Root, England's No.1 ranked Test batter, heads into his fourth Ashes series in Australia on Friday knowing that his wicket once again will be considered the greatest prize for the hosts' bowling attack.
However, despite a spate of "Average Joe" jibes in the local media - reflecting his relative lack of success on Australia soil, where he has yet to make a Test hundred - Root says he remains phlegmatic about his role within the team, adding the tour is "not about me, it's about us collectively".
"I just feel again it's my job in this team to score as many runs as I can and affect games for England in a positive manner with the bat," Root told TNT Sports on the eve of the first Test in Perth. "I think more than anything it's just enjoying every game, and get to grips with the surface, and try to get on top of the opposition when the chances arise."
Full postSmith mocks Panesar Mastermind stint to hit back at sandpaper jibe
Australia's stand-in captain goes 'off-topic' to respond to pre-series taunts about ball-tampering
ESPNcricinfo staff
20-Nov-2025
Steven Smith has become embroiled in a bizarre war of words with Monty Panesar, after hitting back at the former England spinner's suggestion that he should be made to feel "guilty" for his role in the "Sandpaper-gate" ball-tampering scandal seven years ago by invoking the memory of Panesar's failed appearance on Celebrity Mastermind.
Smith, who lost the Australia captaincy after his team was caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during a Test match in South Africa in 2017-18, has stepped back into the role on a temporary basis for Friday's first Ashes Test in Perth, with Pat Cummins missing with a back injury.
In a pre-series interview with an online betting company, Panesar had suggested that England's players should question the ethics of his re-appointment, and called on the UK media to add to the pressure too. "If it were the opposite, the Australian media would be all over it," Panesar said. "They would have said, if it was any of the English players, 'the cheaters have arrived.' Right?"
Full postGlenn McGrath ditched by Australia broadcaster for betting agency partnership
Fast bowler falls foul of strict rules governing national broadcaster
ESPNcricinfo staff
19-Nov-2025
Glenn McGrath, Australia's legendary fast bowler, has been dropped from his commentary duties on the eve of the Ashes, due to his partnership with a betting agency.
McGrath, 55, claimed 563 Test wickets in a 13-year career from 1993 to 2007, including 157 at 20.92 in 30 Ashes Tests.
He had been lined up to provide commentary on ABC radio, with the first Test against England starting in Perth on Friday.
Full post