Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath has made a bold prediction ahead of the Ashes 2025-26, firmly backing Australia to dominate England with a 5-0 whitewash. The legendary bowler expressed strong confidence in the home side’s chances as the series is set to begin this November. His statement followed the recently concluded India-England series, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
England have struggled in recent Ashes history, having not lifted the urn since 2015. They’ve drawn two and lost two series since then, and their last victory on Australian soil came back in 2010-11, when they secured a 3-1 win. Since that triumph, England haven’t won a single Test in Australia. Notably, Australia crushed them 4-0 the last time they hosted in 2021-22.
Since that series, the Pat Cummins-led Australian team has been nearly unbeatable at home, winning 11 out of 15 Tests, losing only twice, with two matches drawn. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Glenn McGrath confidently shared his thoughts on the upcoming clash.
“It’s very rare for me to make a prediction, isn’t it? And I can’t make a different one – 5-0.”
The 55-year-old feels England will struggle against Australia’s pace trio—Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood—and spinner Nathan Lyon.
“I’m very confident with our team. When you’ve got Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon firing in their home conditions, it’s going to be pretty tough.”
“Plus, that track record England have had, it’d be interesting to see if they can win a Test,” he added.
McGrath Casts Doubt On Joe Root’s Ashes Impact
Glenn McGrath further emphasized that Joe Root must perform strongly for England to stand a real chance in the Ashes 2025-26. Speaking in the same interview, he stated:
“This series will be a big one for Root. He’s never really done that well in Australia; he’s not even got a 100 over there, so he’ll be keen to get out there. He’s in fine form.”
Joe Root has scored 892 runs in 14 Tests in Australia, averaging 35.68 with nine fifties. He recently hit 537 runs in five Tests vs India, including three tons, becoming the second-highest Test run-scorer (13,543) after Sachin Tendulkar.
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