The Top Order Cricket Podcast · The Top Order Podcast

The Ashes 2025/26 Review: Did Travis Head & Mitchell Starc put an end to Bazball?

·1 hr 20 min·2 clips

The panel opens on Australia’s 4-1 Ashes win. They start with the final SCG Test, then widen out into what the series said about both sides, with Travis Head’s latest burst and Australia’s bowling attack sitting at the center of the chat. Head comes up early. A fair bit of time goes to Australia’s bowling attack, the pressure it built, and whether the result really reflects the series rather than just the scoreline. England take up plenty of space too. The conversation keeps looping back to Bazball, to whether this series actually ends it, and to whether the answer is less about slogans and more about the players available to carry the plan. Jacob Bethell comes into that debate. The group works through the number three spot, the pull to keep going back to Ollie Pope, and the possibility that England need to move on and trust the county game for fresher options. That opens into a broader argument about selection philosophy. They ask whether changing the coach or captain is the easy answer, or whether the real issue is sticking with a template that needs more situational awareness. Bo Webster gets a mention too. His little spin cameo becomes part of a wider question about spin outside the subcontinent and how much this series says about its current value. Joe Root’s class is acknowledged. The panel also weighs up the keeper-up tactic and the moments where England looked like they were following the philosophy without adjusting to the moment. The conversation never really stays in one lane for long. It moves from wickets to strike rates to tactical choices, then back to the scoreline whenever the argument starts to drift too far from the cricket. Usman Khawaja’s retirement is folded in near the end. That gives the talk a quieter note and a natural bridge into what Australia looks like after this series. By the close, the show has covered the result, the selection questions, the identity debate, and the next steps for both teams. It leaves listeners with a clear sense that the Ashes was decided by more than one good innings and that the arguments are still live.

As heard by us

A brisk series debrief that starts with the scoreline and keeps the cricket questions moving.

The Top Order Podcast treats the Ashes 25/26 as a proper series debrief. It starts with Australia’s 4-1 win in the final SCG Test, then stays with the cricket: whether Travis Head finished the job or simply exposed the limits of England’s plan, the shape of Australia’s bowling…

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You want the Ashes scoreline turned into a proper cricket argument.

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