England's captain Ben Stokes, second left, shakes hands with teammate Shoaib Bashir as he leaves the field after losing the first Ashes cricket test match against Australia in Perth, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025.(AP Photo/Gary Day)Former Australian captain Greg Chappell has urged England not to panic and remain calm, following a thumping eight-wicket loss in the 2025-26 Ashes series opener at Perth on Saturday. The 77-year-old said that the visitors needed to sit down and discuss what had gone wrong, with Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum taking charge of plotting a comeback in the series.
Chappell reiterated that Stokes and his men needed to shut out the outside noise and prevent themselves from making wrong calls before the next match.
“Panic is not the answer. Cold, calm discussion must take place, grounded in the unvarnished truth of the situation. McCullum and Stokes hold the leadership keys because they alone know the full extent of the structural damage, the vulnerabilities, and crucially, which areas of the edifice remain sound. The structure is sound enough to escape. But England must not listen to the shouts; they must learn the lessons. Only then can they hope to get back on the course, lest the race be over before the end of the first straight.”
“They know that listening to the shouting outside will only lead them down a blind alley, or worse, cause them to add insult to injury by making the wrong decision,” he wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
The former right-handed batter felt that England had got their bowling lengths wrong at Perth and perhaps got a bit carried away by assuming there would be trampoline-like bounce at the venue.
“The most critical tactical error was the length they bowled in both innings. It is a mistake many touring teams have fallen for at the WACA and now at the new Optus Stadium. England’s bowlers, perhaps seduced by the bounce, bowled too short too often”.
“England must prepare for the home attack – Starc, Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett – to pitch it up relentlessly. The English bowlers must reciprocate. This is no time for tentative half-measures; the mantra for the bowling unit must be: if in doubt, pitch it up,” he added.
Chappell felt that, despite the loss in Perth, the visitors had positives to take out of the match, adding that they were blown away by excellent individual performances from Mitchell Starc and Travis Head and a better tactically aware skipper in Steve Smith.
“For all the talk of a humbling loss, the truth is that England had many positives from the match and were, arguably, in a winning position more than once. Australia won because they were superior in three critical areas and had a more robust plan for the specific conditions in Perth: they had the best bowler in Mitchell Starc, the best batter in Travis Head, and the more tactically acute captain in Steven Smith,“ he wrote.
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