The Ashes 2025-26: Glenn McGrath says Australia’s next target will be to win England in 2027

You wouldn’t expect too many changes to Australia’s line-up and style of play, but England need to rethink their blueprint for how they do things. They’re halfway there.

To be honest, what I saw in England in 2023 is the same as what I see now.

They had a way of playing, they were proud of it, they thought this was the right way and they were setting a new standard, but in the back of my mind I didn’t think it was going to work.

You have to get what they wanted but with mental toughness, resilience and toughness mixed into that.

I’ve seen them go out and play and support themselves – whether it’s without fear or without pressure – those are two completely different things.

I thought it was better to play without pressure, and if they played poorly, there would be no responsibility.

If one of our guys played a bad shot, they were nervous going back to the locker room because of how the rest of the team would think and how they let the rest of the team down.

This series has been a huge wake-up call. I think it’s finally become that you need players that you can build that mental toughness and resilience through, and you need players that enjoy that pressure and can absorb that pressure and go out and play. He doesn’t pretend the pressure doesn’t exist.

But I wouldn’t be quick to get rid of Brendon McCullum.

The England and Wales Cricket Board wants to look at this tour and look at what was wrong with it, but there has to be the flip side of what they have learned and what they will now put into practice.

If they want to keep going like this, it won’t work out and maybe it’s time for Baz to move on, but if he thinks he sees the potential and knows what he needs to add to it to make it a reality, then maybe he’s the guy who can keep going.

There were positives. Jacob Bethel looks to be a top-class player at number three, while Josh Tong needs to take the new ball more often as he has been exceptional.

Joe Root is a top-notch player and Braydon Carse is the absolute backbone of his effort.

There are positives that have come out of this, but there are a lot of things they need to do differently.

This defeat will be painful, but hopefully they will learn a lot from it and be more resilient and mentally strong.

If they can bury that thought, they will be a tough team moving forward.