Test cricket | DD News

December 22, 2025 11:59 AM

‘Hubris has taken over’: England’s McCullum under fire after Ashes defeat

England's red-ball coach Brendon McCullum faced a barrage of criticism from former players and captains on Sunday after his team slumped to another crushing Ashes defeat by Australia. The hosts swept to an 82-run win in the third Ashes test at Adelaide Oval to retain the urn with two matches to spare. After eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane, England have lost the Ashes in three matches for the fourth consecutive tour, while losing 16 of their last 18 tests in Australia. The thrashing...

December 22, 2025 11:57 AM

Ashes defeat heralds end of England’s Bazball era

It was a wild ride while it lasted but the 'Bazball' revolution that enlivened English cricket for three years collapsed in 11 days on Australian soil in an Ashes defeat as harrowing as any in the modern era. Bazball's champions, coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, may argue otherwise and claim England's death-or-glory style can be retooled and rise again. In reality, it is unlikely to survive the bitter post-mortem that looms at the end of a series that had promised so much a...

December 22, 2025 11:56 AM

Labuschagne mocks Broad’s ‘worst Australian team’ jibe after Ashes triumph

After taking two stunning slips catches at Adelaide Oval to hasten England's Ashes defeat, Marnus Labuschagne did not miss the chance to stick it to Stuart Broad for a pre-series jibe about the quality of the Australian team. Former England quick Broad had said on his podcast in October that Pat Cummins's side were "probably the worst Australian team since 2010 when England last won". Ben Stokes' side, meanwhile, were the best English team since 2010. England last won an Ashes series Down Und...

December 22, 2025 10:57 AM

McCullum concedes mistakes were made after England suffer another Ashes failure

Brendon McCullum admitted he had made mistakes as England head coach and said their preparations may have been flawed after the tourists surrendered the Ashes with defeat in the third test in Adelaide on Sunday. England's light preparations and lack of tour matches in Australia drew heavy criticism from former players and pundits, and the subsequent Ashes failure has put McCullum's role under major scrutiny. "It is disappointing when you lose and I'm sure there will be plenty of questions aske...

December 22, 2025 10:56 AM

Pat Cummins hails Australia’s resilience in dealing with Ashes curveballs

Australia captain Pat Cummins praised his players for persevering through a raft of injury setbacks as the hosts celebrated retaining the Ashes with victory over England in the third test in Adelaide on Sunday. Master batter Steve Smith was a late withdrawal and Nathan Lyon suffered a hamstring injury early on day five but Australia went on to complete an 82-run win for an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. Cummins had missed the first two tests with a back injury but Smith stepped in to lea...

November 30, 2025 4:00 PM

Travis Head prepared to open again for Australia after heroics in first Ashes test

Australia's Travis Head says he is prepared to open the batting once more against England during the ongoing Ashes series after his second innings display in the first test in Perth last week led the home side to an eight-wicket victory over the tourists. Head smashed a century in 69 balls, the second fastest in Ashes history, on his way to a match-winning 123 runs after being drafted in as a late replacement for Usman Khawaja, when the regular top-order batter was unable to take to the field. ...

November 30, 2025 3:57 PM

England’s Joe Root ready for pink-ball Ashes test after heavy loss

England batter Joe Root said he is confident of rediscovering his scoring touch and backed the team to embrace the challenge of their next pink-ball test against Australia after a drubbing by the hosts in the Ashes series opener. England take on Australia in Brisbane from Thursday looking to respond strongly to their eight-wicket defeat inside two days in Perth, where Root was dismissed for zero in the first innings before falling for eight in the next. "It's pretty disappointing in terms of t...

November 27, 2025 5:04 PM

Lions no more, India’s test team appear vulnerable on home soil

The thought of playing a test series in India once struck fear into the hearts of touring sides, but with their fortress now breached twice in the last 12 months local cricket fans know the team's aura of invincibility on home soil has been shattered. India did not lose a home test series for 12 years until New Zealand whitewashed them 3-0 late last year, and while the reverberations from that stunning defeat had grown faint, South Africa's 2-0 victory has delivered another almighty shock to ho...

November 27, 2025 5:00 PM

South Africa underline test credentials after conquering ‘final frontier’ in India

Beating India in their backyard is considered test cricket's biggest challenge, and Temba Bavuma's men aced it with a 2-0 series sweep, which will dispel any doubt about South Africa's credentials as world champions in the long format. The outcry over the minefield of a pitch in Kolkata overshadowed their triumph inside three days in the series opener - South Africa's first test win in India since 2010. Besides, India were one batter short in that low-scoring match after home captain Shubman G...

November 27, 2025 4:55 PM

India’s young batters need more time, Gambhir says after record test loss

India's young batters need more time to gain red-ball experience, coach Gautam Gambhir said after his team suffered their heaviest loss by runs in test cricket as South Africa earned a 408-run win in Guwahati on Wednesday to sweep the series 2-0. Gambhir's own coaching style also faced heavy criticism as India's batters folded for 201 or less in every innings in the two-match series, handing world test champions South Africa their first series win in the format on Indian soil since 2000. It wa...