Pope says idea England ‘weren’t fussed’ about the Ashes was tough to take

AFP | London

Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Ollie Pope believes the idea England “weren’t fussed” during their woeful Ashes tour of Australia was unfair on the squad but understands why the “misperception” became lodged in the minds of many fans and pundits.

Ben Stokes’ tourists went down to a 4-1 series loss to Australia over five Tests in 2025/26, with the troubled campaign still the subject of an England and Wales Cricket Board review.

In addition to their poor onfield performance, concerns about the culture of the England squad emerged during a break in Noosa, an Australian resort, where there were reports of excessive drinking by players.

This was followed by revelations that vice-captain Harry Brook had had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the pre-Ashes visit to New Zealand.

Pope, however, insists England’s were fully focused on regaining the Ashes and might have been more successful had they cemented an encouraging start to the first Test in Perth.

“Going into that series, there was a lot spoken about the preparation of it,” Pope told reporters yesterday. “As a team, the misconception might be that we weren’t as fussed as it came across.”

The 28-year-old, speaking at county side Surrey’s media day, added: “The tough thing for everyone in that first game (Test) was the nature of it. Had we won that, and we’d done slightly better on day two, the idea is different.

“Of course we want to be a well-liked team, on and off the pitch, and unfortunately our performance didn’t allow that to happen in Australia.