“As a batting group, how reckless can you be?” - Ravi Ashwin questions England’s batting approach in 1st Ashes Test

Former Indian spinner and analyst Ravi Ashwin has slammed the England cricket team for their reckless batting approach on both days of the first Ashes 2025-26 Test, which was played in Perth, as Australia bagged a comfortable eight-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin asserted that as a batting unit, you would love to give your bowlers enough rest. However, England bowlers, in no time, were back on the park to defend a paltry total in the fourth innings, which didn’t go down well with the former spinner.

“But how reckless will reckless suffice? I am actually thinking, where will the bandwidth of the word ‘reckless’ remain? If you keep putting everything into that bandwidth, how reckless can even reckless get? Because I am saying that, you know, there are many things. I don’t want to take names of players. Even in the Indian team, there will be many next-generation players who, I mean, the fielders are back on the boundary, yet they take the chance, they hit lofted shots,” Ravi Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“As a batting group, how reckless can you be? Because on the first day, you were knocked out for 172, you lost five wickets in the space of 12 or 15 or maybe 20 runs. After that your bowling attack wrestled the initiative back, gave you a 40-run lead. And your first job as a batting unit is to give your bowlers enough rest. And Rahul (Dravid) bhai always says, give your bowlers overnight rest and see how your bowlers respond. Today they came and cleaned up the last wicket. The England bowlers, I am sure, would have wanted to put their feet up, and in no time they are back on the park looking to defend 200, which is paltry,” he added.

Furthermore, Ashwin added that England got hammered against Australia, which doesn’t have star pacers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, for playing reckless cricket. However, he backed the Ben Stokes-led side to bounce back stronger in the next Test.

“In my view, England, minus Pat Cummins minus Hazlewood have been hammered, and truly hammered, after they put on a show and thinking Bazball has come to town. They have been hammered for reckless cricket. So I know Michael Vaughan was saying on commentary that this team knows how to come back. I hope they do, because this will become a very, very, very long tour otherwise,” he concluded.

The second Test will commence on Thursday, December 4, at The Gabba in Brisbane.

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