The Ashes 2025-26: Glenn McGrath says Australia’s next goal will be winning in England in 2027

Not much change is expected in the Australian side and approach, but England need to rethink their plans for how they do things. They’re halfway there.

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

They had their own style of play and they were proud of it, they thought it was the way to go 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 have what they want, but with that you also have to add mental toughness, stamina and endurance.

I’ve seen them go out and play and support themselves – whether they’re playing fearlessly or playing without pressure – those are two completely different things.

I thought it was better to play without pressure and there would be no liability if they made a bad shot.

If one of our players made a bad shot, they were nervous about going back to the locker room because of what the rest of the team would think of them and how they would disappoint the rest of the team.

This series was a huge wake-up call. I think we’ve finally realized that you need players that you can build mental toughness and toughness with, that enjoy that pressure, that can absorb that pressure and go out there and play. He doesn’t act like there’s no pressure.

But I won’t be rushing to get rid of Brendon McCullum.

The England and Wales Cricket board wants to review this tour and look at what went wrong, but they need to have the other side of what they have learned and what they will put into practice now.

If they want to continue as they are, it’s not going to work and maybe it’s time for Baz to move on, but if he feels like he sees what the potential is and knows what he needs to add to it for it to become a reality, then maybe he’s the man to move on.

There were positive things. Jacob Bethell looks like a classy player in the third row while Josh Tongue needs to get the new ball a little more often as he is out of order.

Joe Root is a classy player and Brydon Carse is a true businessman with his efforts.

There are positive things that come out, but there are a lot of things they should have done differently.

This defeat will be painful but hopefully they learn a lot from it and become more mentally tough and tough.

If they can bury this idea they will be a formidable team moving forward.