A fuming Ian Botham has launched a scathing attack on England’s cricketers, claiming that travelling members of the Barmy Army should demand a ‘refund’ from the ECB. The former England captain Ian Botham made the comments during the afternoon session of England’s eight-wicket defeat at The Gabba and once again blasted Ben Stokes’ side over their preparations in the build-up to the second Ashes Test.
England continued their horrid run in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26, taking on Australia in the second Test of the series. The two sides locked horns at the Gabba in Brisbane from December 4, and the Aussies managed to defeat the visitors within four days, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series.
It is interesting to note that England has been unable to challenge Australia across the first two tests of the series. The side lost the first Test of the series within two days, without putting up much of a fight, and their streak continued with a loss in the second game as well.
England’s Ashes 2025-26 campaign has dived into despair as Australia humiliated them by eight wickets on Sunday, December 7, 2025. Australia’s win helped them take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series. England’s condition prompted a stinging appraisal from veteran Ian Botham, who stated that fans would be right in demanding their money back given the team’s lack of preparation.
Australia’s opening innings of 511 laid the groundwork, and a harsh time under lights left England reeling at 134/6 on day four. Stokes and Will Jacks briefly kept England together, giving them a slim lead, but Michael Neser’s spectacular burst for 5/42 broke the deadlock. Australia easily achieved the target of 65 runs with nine wickets in hand.
Speaking on the same, legendary former England cricketer Ian Botham came forward and slammed England. Ian Botham opined that if he were a spectator and an England fan, he would have been asking the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) for a refund.
Former England All rounder Ian Botham slams England team after second successive loss in Ashes 2025-26
Former England captain Ian Botham did not mince words while criticising England’s performance in the second Test of the ongoing Ashes and their preparation in general. England went 2-0 down after losing the second Test of the ongoing Ashes by eight wickets in Brisbane.
He even went to the extent of claiming that he would have demanded the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for a refund had he been a fan paying money to come see England play at the venues. Botham opined that the main team should have played the two-day preparatory game against the Prime Minister’s XI ahead of the pink-ball clash at the Gabba.
“If I was an England supporter and had paid the money to come here, I’d be asking the ECB for a refund. Because this team, for me, is not prepared. They missed a trick. They could’ve sent the team that was going to play in this Test to Canberra and had some experience with the pink ball.
“What do we do? ‘No, we don’t need to’. Well, I suggest you do need to. You dropped five catches the other day [Day 2]. England could’ve been ahead,” shared Ian Botham while speaking on Triple M.
It is interesting to note that contrary to Ian Botham’s take, head coach Brendon McCullum was of the opinion that England had “trained too much” . He was referring to the “five intense training sessions” in the buildup to the second Test.
The tourists were coming into the second Test on the back of an eight-wicket thumping in the series-opening clash in Perth. This time around, they were out-batted by Australia in both innings and not one. Mitchell Starc secured the Player of the Match award for his eight-wicket match haul as well as a 141-ball 77-run knock in the first innings.
The third Test is scheduled to be played at the Adelaide Oval from December 17. While both teams have enough time on their hands to take some time off and prepare for the match, all eyes will be on Ben Stokes’ unit and the manner in which they train in what seems like a do-or-die game for them.
Also Read: Ashes 2025-26: Joe Root & Ben Stokes Solidify England’s Position