Former England cricketer Ian Botham came forward and slammed his former side for their performances in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26, stating that he would have been asking the ECB for a refund if he was a spectator.
England continued their horrid run in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26, taking on Australia in the second Test of the series. The two sides locked horns at the Gabba in Brisbane from December 4, and the Aussies managed to defeat the visitors within four days, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series.
It is interesting to note that England has been unable to challenge Australia across the first two tests of the series. The side lost the first Test of the series within two days, without putting up much of a fight, and their streak continued with a loss in the second game as well.
Speaking on the same, legendary former England cricketer Ian Botham came forward and slammed England. He opined that if he were a spectator and an England fan, he would have been asking the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) for a refund.
“If I was an England supporter and had paid the money to come here, I’d be asking the ECB for a refund. Because this team, for me, is not prepared,” Botham was quoted as saying by News.com.au.
“They missed a trick. They could’ve sent the team that was going to play in this Test to Canberra and had some experience with the pink ball. What do we do? ‘No, we don’t need to’. Well I suggest you do need to. You dropped five catches the other day. England could’ve been ahead,” he added.
Brendon McCullum reflected on England’s preparations for the series
After the second test, England head coach Brendon McCullum was asked if their losses were a result of not training as much before the game, but the former Kiwi was quick to state that the side had overtrained before the matches.
“We had five intense training sessions leading into this game. Sometimes there is a tendency to overdo things to make up for it. If anything, we trained too much,” McCullum said via BBC.
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