It has been 15 long years since England last tasted Ashes Series glory on Australian soil, and after the first test of the 2025/26 series in Perth, many expect that drought to go on. But for all the doom and gloom surrounding their Optus Stadium collapse, arguably their worst of all time, there were still some positives that the tourists could take into the second clash at the Gabba. The biggest of those was their devastating pace attack.
Throughout Australia’s first innings in that first test, England’s bowlers answered the critics resoundingly. With their batsman managing just 172 all out, the pressure was on for the tourists to answer with the ball, and boy did they do it. The returning Jofra Archer led the way initially, dismantling the Baggy Greens’ top order by dispatching both openers Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne. Then, Brydon Carse took over, removing the talismanic Steve Smith for just 17 and Usman Khawaja for 2.
The star of the show, though, as ever, was captain Ben Stokes. England’s leader picked up five wickets as he reduced the hosts to 132 all out, putting his side on the brink of victory. Or so we thought. In true English fashion, the batting collapse lay in wait, and Travis Head fully led Australia to victory, resulting in a seismic shift in the betting odds.
Aussies are Now the Clear Favourites
Pre-tournament, the tourists were considered a narrow 11/5 outsider to win their first series on Australian Soil since 2011, with the hosts installed as an even-money favourite. Savvy bettors running those odds through a popular betting tool will have realised that there was plenty of value on the hosts, despite their position as the frontrunners. The popular expected value calculator betting calculator at Thunderpick helped those punters identify that the Baggy Greens were underpriced, primarily thanks to their dominant record in home Ashes series over the last decade, and their assumptions have since been presumed correct.
England now find themselves as whopping 5/1 outsiders to win the series, with odds on the hosts slashed down to 1/4. The violent drift in odds perfectly illustrates why professional bettors constantly re-run lines through an expected value calculator rather than relying on gut feel; what looked like clear value on England pre-series has become one of the worst prices on the board after just one Test.
But as mentioned, that opening bowling spell in Perth certainly provided a platform that England can build upon. But where does it rank in their best bowling efforts throughout their 15-year drought in the Land Down Under? Let’s take a look.
Mark Wood’s Blistering Pace Comes to the Fore
By the time the 2021/22 Ashes Series made its way to Hobart for the fifth test, the competition was already well and truly over. Australia led 3-0 after a slew of dominant performances, but there was still one last chance for England to at least leave with their heads held high. While they couldn’t take the opportunity, one man certainly did: Mark Wood.
With England trailing by 115 runs after the first innings, they needed a miracle. It very nearly came. For the first time, all series, the tourists had the hosts on the ropes, and Wood was the man responsible, picking up stunning figures of six wickets for just 37 runs in a fearsome display of fast bowling. The proud Geordie ripped through the Australian top order, dispatching the likes of Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, and Travis Head to leave the Aussies 155 all out, their lowest score of the series by some distance.
Wood’s effort left his side needing 270 to win, but as we all know by now, such a score on Australian soil is far too much to ask of an English batting line-up. The tourists were dismissed for just 124 and succumbed to a 146 run defeat, but not before Wood had announced himself to the world as a devastating fast bowler.
Jimmy Anderson Gives England Hope
Jimmy Anderson will go down in history as England’s greatest ever bowler. Throughout his two decade long career, he picked up a mighty 704 wickets, third most all time behind Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. He was one of the stars of the show the last time England claimed the Ashes on Australian soil back in 2010/11, but by the time the 2017/18 series rolled around, the King of Swing was powerless resist as the Aussies dominated.
Still, he managed to enjoy one solitary moment in the sun. In the second test in Adelaide, Anderson somehow kept his team in contention. With Australia leading by 215 runs after the first innings, England needed a monumental effort with the ball to have any hope of victory. That came in the form of Anderson. the former Lancashire man picked up five wickets in restricting Australia to 138 all out, dismissing stars Khawaja and Cameron Bancroft.
Chris Woakes would chip in with a further four wickets to provide England the platform to secure an unoikely victory. But despite all the bowling heroics, that win would not come. England were bowled out for 233, 120 runs short of victory.
