Ashes 2025-26: England produce another poor day of bowling against Australia in Sydney

We’ve been here before over the past six weeks.

England’s fast bowling attack was supposed to provide new hope of victory in Australia. Luke Skywalker could have been better at holding the line and length.

In Perth and Brisbane, England’s charity allowed Australia to reach 100 in 16.3 overs and then 17.2 overs – both in the top five for fastest to reach triple figures in 140 years of Ashes Tests.

That effort – 100-1 in 20.3 overs – was not far behind.

Once again, England’s length was the obvious failure.

Braydon Carse and Matthew Potts set the tone with a stray first six overs that included seven fours – all of them for cuts and pulls.

Potts and Cars bowled 47% of deliveries shorter than 8 meters in their first six overs, compared to 19% for Australia over the same period on day one.

Potts, playing his first match of the series, finished the day with 0-58 from seven overs. Carse was hit, as he had done throughout the series, for more than four runs each over despite Jake Weatherald being dropped from the bowling.

Stokes pinned Weatherald lbw in the 13th over and he and Josh Tonge briefly took control but Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne were still able to combine for 105 runs in 113 balls for the second wicket.

Australia have registered a boundary every 13.4 balls in this series, which is already below the recent world average of one every 15.1 balls.

During this innings, Australia hit the ball to the rope once every 7.2 deliveries.

“You can’t plan,” Tufnell said. “I think now it’s about ability. I don’t know if they’ve got it.

“I don’t understand why professional bowlers can’t bowl and try to hit the top of the off stump six out of six. You’re the best we’ve got.

“They couldn’t put any kind of pressure [together]. Place an A4 sheet of paper down and press it. They were everywhere. “I can’t believe it.”