England batsmen Ollie Pope Responding to criticism after his team’s Ashes defeat in Australia, the impression that the team “wasn’t rubbish” was incorrect, while accepting why that view caught on among fans and pundits.Under the leadership of England Ben StokesAustralia lost the 2025/26 Ashes series 4-1 to the cricket team. The tour is under review by the England and Wales Cricket Board.Apart from the results on the field, the tour also attracted attention due to reports about the team culture. Claims emerged of players drinking heavily during the break in Noosa. There were also reports that vice-captain Harry Brooke had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer before the New Zealand tour.
Pope said the team was focused on winning the Ashes and pointed to the first Test in Perth as the key moment.“Going into this series, there was a lot of talk about the preparation,” Pope told reporters. “As a team, the misconception might be that we weren’t as upset as it appeared.”Speaking at Surrey’s media day, the 28-year-old said the early test results set the narrative.“The difficult thing for everyone in the first game (Test) was the nature of it. If we had won it, and we had done a bit better on the second day, the perception is different.“Of course we want to be a good team on and off the pitch, and unfortunately our performance in Australia didn’t allow that.”“I can understand why people felt that way, but at the same time the idea that we weren’t worried was probably the hardest thing. All we wanted to do was go and win the Ashes… whatever we wanted to do was win,” Pope said.“And for us at times it was trying to take the pressure off the actual Test match, in our minds.”Even before the series began, questions were raised about England’s readiness in Australian conditions. Their build-up included a three-day match against the England Lions at Perth’s Lilac Hill.“As we’ve done in years past, we tried to make it the best we could, like a normal series,” Pope said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned.”He added: “I know I need to be as prepared as I can be. From a personal point of view, I felt I could have been as prepared for this first Test.”Pope was dropped after the third Test, averaging 20.83 in the first three matches. Jacob Bethel replaced him and scored a century in the fifth Test in Sydney.Despite the setback, Pope said he is focused on getting back into the team.“I still feel like my best batting years are yet to come.”He was speaking after the ECB reversed plans to ban Ashes players from speaking to the media ahead of the county season while the tour is reviewed.
