"Ben Stokes' England Stupid, Brainless, Overconfident, Self-Destructive"- Geoffrey Boycott defines Bazball

England’s Ashes 2025-26 campaign has begun with embarrassment and massive criticism in Australia. After losing the first Test to Australia in just two days, England legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott unleashed a brutal attack on Ben Stokes and his team.

The five-match Test series opener began wildly, as a massive 19 wickets fell on the opening day at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Even with the pitch behaving sharply and the ball doing plenty, England somehow managed to take a 40-run lead in the first innings, thanks to Harry Brook’s fifty.

England was humiliated in 2 days as Australia won the Ashes opener

That advantage looked massive on a fast, bouncy surface where every run felt important. And even at one point in their second innings, England looked in full control. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope were batting confidently, and the team was effectively 100/1 with the chance to stretch the lead further and put Australia under huge pressure in the first Ashes Test.

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But as has happened so many times before, England’s domination was shattered as poor decisions, misjudged shots, and a complete loss of discipline caused another collapse. Instead of building a strong target, they could only set a 205-run target for Australia to win the Perth Test.

Chasing the target, Travis Head produced a stunning counterattack, smashing 123 runs from just 83 balls. His aggressive approach pushed England completely out of the match. Marnus Labuschagne supported him with a stunning fifty, keeping Australia well on track throughout the chase.

England’s bowlers had no answers to Head’s attack, and the defending champions have cruised to an eight-wicket victory, taking a 1–0 lead in the five-match Test series.

Geoffrey Boycott tears into England’s attitude after defeat in 1st Ashes Test

In his column for The Telegraph UK, titled “I cannot take this stupid England team seriously anymore,” Sir Geoffrey Boycott has delivered a fierce and emotional assessment of the England cricket team’s attitude and performance in recent times.

The legendary England opener has accused the current side of ignoring outside advice, shutting themselves off from criticism, and living in a world where they believe too strongly in their own hype. He slammed England’s ultra-aggressive approach that caused their downfall in Tests.

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Sir Geoffrey Boycott writes in his ‘The Telegraph UK’ column: “Before this series started, Ben Stokes told the world that any ex-player who criticised them or had a different opinion was a ‘has-been’ because Test cricket had changed and the past was irrelevant."

"Well, from this, the message is simple: when you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things, it is impossible to take you seriously. They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity.”

Brainless batting and bowling lost England the Perth Test: Sir Geoffrey Boycott

He pointed out how England wasted a dominant position, especially after having a valuable first-innings lead on a difficult pitch. With momentum on their side and batters settled, the team still found a way to self-destruct, and the collapse turned into a crushing defeat.

The well-known commentator further explained, “It is simple. Brainless batting and bowling lost England the match. A 40-run lead on a fast, bouncy, low-scoring pitch was huge, and with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope together at one stage, England was in charge at effectively 100 for one.”

Boycott signed off by saying, “But as exciting as this England team can be, they are always only a blink of an eye away from self-destruction. Bazball, bad judgment, overconfidence, whatever the reason, it makes winning matches difficult. Against top teams like India and Australia, it is a huge factor in losing.”