Wisden Cricket Weekly Ashes Daily: Australia retain the Ashes after 11 days of cricket
Dec 21, 2025
Australia retains the Ashes after a thrilling showdown in Adelaide, despite fierce resistance from England's Will Jacks and Jamie Smith. The hosts debate England's potential for a comeback and question their approach to ‘normal’ defeats. Key moments, like dropped catches and missed opportunities, are analyzed as pivotal to the match outcome. They also discuss the inexperience of England's players and the importance of preparation, as the team struggles to find form late in the series.
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Closer Losses Can Mask No Progress
- England's closer performance in Adelaide still felt like a standard defeat rather than true progress.
- Cam Ponsonby worries applauding a narrower loss masks that England simply lost in a more traditional way.
Small Errors Decisively Shift Tests
- England showed improved patches but also left clear chances that cost them the match.
- Yas Rana lists dropped catches and poor bowling periods as concrete reasons the Test swung Australia's way.
Repeated Early Collapses Hurt England
- Cam Pontsonby recounts how England repeatedly failed to build big first-innings totals.
- He notes Will Jacks' batting rescue was valuable but the team still surrendered runs and wickets regularly.