- Sport
- Cricket
Glenn McGrath questioned whether England players have the ‘mental toughness’ to be considered great
Chris WilsonSunday 23 November 2025 12:57 GMTComments
CloseShellshocked England fall to heavy Ashes defeat inside two days
Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter and get behind-the-scenes access and unrivalled insight
Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter
Join the Miguel Delaney: Inside Football newsletter
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Former Australia international Glenn McGrath has questioned whether the England squad contains any “great” players after suggesting that Brendon McCullum’s team don’t have the required “mental toughness and attitude” to win the Ashes.
The tourists collapsed to a famous Ashes defeat in the first Test in Perth on Saturday, with a 69-ball century from Travis Head and a catastrophic afternoon batting session – in which England lost four wickets for just 11 runs – helping Australia complete a remarkable turnaround inside two days.
It was the ninth-shortest Ashes Test in history, with the humiliation compounded by the fact that the tourists were 99 runs ahead and a wicket down going into lunch and now trail 1-0 in the series.
open image in gallery(Jason O'Brien/PA Wire)And McGrath highlighted the “mental toughness and attitude” of the side when questioning whether they have great players.
“There are times when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but great players have the mental toughness and attitude to be adaptable enough for the conditions,” he said on BBC.
Recommended
Why England’s haunting Ashes humiliation won’t lead to major change
When is the next Ashes Test? TV channel, date and start time for Australia vs England
Brendon McCullum tells England fans to ‘keep the faith’ after losing first Test
“For Australia to fight back and win the first Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what scars will be left on the England team. What are they going to do for the rest of the series?” he added.
Former bowler McGrath explained that “England's shot selection was their big undoing”, with their batters “trying to hit balls outside off stump, on the up, through the covers”.
“Trying to score off those deliveries, with those shots, is the one thing you just do not do as a batter in Australia,” said McGrath.
open image in galleryEngland need to regroup after suffering a historic defeat in the first Test (Getty Images)“It showed that England had not done their homework, are not able to adapt or are unwilling to adapt.
“There is a lot of talk about England's method, their aggressive style. If England do not reassess, they will struggle for the whole series.
“In Test cricket, all disciplines require a Plan B. Quite often it feels like England have one method, then nowhere to go if that does not work,” he added.
The result leaves England needing a win in the second Test of the series, which is a day-night match that begins on 4 December in Brisbane, with play getting underway at 4:30am GMT each morning.
More about
Glenn McgrathAshesEngland cricketAustralia CricketJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
