‘Carelessly squandered’: Wisden scolds England’s tumultuous Ashes tour

• Series defeat in Australia ‘a chance so blithely spurned’

• Indian dominance and Starc’s sacrifice recognised

The latest edition of Wisden is ­unsparing in its criticism of England’s Test team, describing their https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jan/08/australia-hold-on-to-win-fifth-ashes-test-leaving-england-to-rue-missed-chances">Ashes defeat in Australia as a “wing-and-a-prayer” campaign that ended up “feckless, reckless and legless”.

Published this Thursday, the sport’s longstanding bible has a strong Indian flavour to its awards.

Haseeb Hameed, captain of https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/sep/25/nottinghamshires-unfancied-men-lead-them-to-county-championship-title">title-winning Nottinghamshire, is the sole Englishman among the five ­players of the year, with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and ­Mohammed Siraj recognised for their roles in last year’s https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/04/england-india-fifth-cricket-test-day-five-report-injured-woakes-drawn-series">memorable 2-2 Test series draw in England.