Claim ‘wasn’t rubbish’ hard to take: England’s Pope’s criticism of Ashes | Cricket News

England batsman Ollie Pope has hit back at criticism following his side’s Ashes defeat in Australia, saying the impression the team “wasn’t rubbish” is false, while accepting why that view has caught on among fans and pundits.

England, led by Ben Stokes, lost the 2025/26 Ashes series 4-1 to the Australian cricket team. The England and Wales Cricket Board is currently reviewing the tour.

Apart from the results on the field, the tour also attracted attention due to reports surrounding the team culture. Claims emerged of players drinking heavily during the break in Noosa.

There were also reports that vice-captain Harry Brook had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer before the New Zealand tour.

Pope emphasised the team’s focus on winning the Ashes and identified the first Test in Perth as the pivotal moment.

“Going into this series, there was a lot of talk about his 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 would be 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 perspective, I felt I could have been more 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. Pope remained focused on rejoining the team despite the setback. “

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.