Ashes 2025-26: England fans applaud rubbish collection in Adelaide Test

At least one English touring party is getting praise while in Australia.

Things may be going badly for England’s cricketers at the Ashes, but mobile fans endeared themselves to locals by collecting litter from the famous grass banks at Adelaide Oval during the third Test – with a little help from BBC Radio 5 Live’s Eli Oldroyd.

Charlie Smith, a member of Barmy Army supporters group, appeared on 5 Live Breakfast earlier this week and received a sweet nudge from Oldroyd.

“I looked out and said, ‘You left that in a state. This place is a mess,'” Oldroyd said. “There was rubbish all over the hill.

“Here’s Charlie, on his way to Earth on day two, he goes to a local supermarket, picks up a roll of trash bags, hands them over and cleans them all up.

“I thought well done Charlie, well done Barmy Army and well done 5 Live Breakfasts for achieving this.”

Fans received widespread praise on social media after local media published a video of the cleaning process, a reference to Japanese soccer teams cleaning their locker rooms after World Cup matches.

“After seeing the chaos on the first day, I felt a little embarrassed,” Smith told the BBC.

“I thought we should do better. There were a lot of us.

“The thinking was that we were in the hundreds and it would take 20 minutes or the other cleaners would take an hour or two.”