Former England spinner predicts 2025-26 Ashes

With the Ashes set to commence in three days, we sat down with ex-England spinner Monty Panesar. He explained the factors he thinks will define the series, spoke about Joe Root chasing Sachin Tendulkar and finally, predicted the 2025-26 Ashes.

England’s strengths and weaknesses

Panesar pointed to England’s bowling attack, the middle-order and the surprise package of Will Jacks as the main positives for this Ashes. For Jacks, he mentions that his heavy deliveries and competent batting could prove to be vital.

"The positives I would say is the hostile attack. That will be the key factor. England also have a strong batting lineup. They've got a good core middle-order with Root, Brook, Duckett and Crawley. That's a good core there."

"Will Jacks could be a positive, surprising factor. We don't know how he's going to go about. He bowls a heavy stock delivery, bats lower-order at no.7. He could be absolutely vital and surprise a few."

When it comes to weaknesses, Panesar first and foremost mentions the decision to not pick Chris Woakes. He also explains that Woakes’ ability to swing the ball would have been very useful for the Brisbane Test.

"The negativity and the snubs that we talk about, Chris Woakes! I think they needed Chris Woakes on this trip. They probably put a hand on him and said we're not going to take you to the Ashes. He's retired early and they're moving on."

"The Brisbane Test is a day/night Test. Swinging conditions, he could have been useful there. He could have been useful at Adelaide on the slightly slower surface."

Panesar also talks about Rehan Ahmed not being picked, claiming that England played it safe by picking Will Jacks ahead of him.

"Another snub is Rehan Ahmed. They could have probably brought in an X-Factor leg-spinner. We know he's played a huge part and is a capable batsman who's done really well for Leicestershire this year. He could have been an X-Factor pick but they've gone with the safer option in Will Jacks."

While the spinner believes England’s pace attack is a strength, he is concerned about their long-term fitness. Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have struggled with their fitness and Ben Stokes has been dealing with shoulder problems. Panesar is afraid that they won’t be able to last a gruelling five-test series.

"The other problem is injury concerns. England have a hostile bowling attack but they have a history with Mark Wood, Jofra Archer being injury-prone. Ben Stokes having issues with his shoulder. These could be factors that affect the outcome of who wins the Ashes."

“It’s something that Australia will also be looking into because the bowlers like Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson. Josh Tongue and William Potts will bring pace and bounce. They’ll be mentally fresh too due to the fact it’s a new challenge and it’s the unknown. Cricketers either embrace the challenge or not. You sink or swim. I hope that they can rise to the challenge.”

“The worry is the injury risk. They’ve all got a track record of getting injured and Carse can bowl quickly but he’s unpredictable. Atkinson has a repeatable action and he’s down well but there will be pressure on him to lead the attack and lead in the five test matches. Josh Tongue is injury prone but gets an awkward bounce.”

“The management of the bowlers and the rotation of the seamers will be key to England winning The Ashes. Potts could go the distance in my opinion. He doesn’t get swing or have pace so Australia may target him. But if he gets movement in Brisbane it could be huge for him.”

Lastly, Panesar also voices his concern about England’s lack of Test cricket in the run-up to the Ashes, as well as a new vice-captain in the form of Harry Brook.

"Going into the Ashes, in my opinion, there's a lack of preparation. You're playing ODI cricket, a different format. I think we all can agree that they should have played a Test match cause it helps with the mental preparation, even if they lost. It's the mental preparation going into the Ashes, they could have seen that as a practice match."

“Right now all eyes are on Harry Brook at the moment. He’s the guy that plays without fear and he’s the guy who attacks and can take England to the next level. He’s that cricketer who will play 100+ test matches. He’s the future of English cricket.”

"The change of vice-captaincy. Harry Brook, we don't know how he's going to handle the pressure. If his batting doesn't go well and he doesn't bat the way he bats, would he be able to think clearly when the captain wants his advice? Stuff like that, that's unknown."

As of this writing, England are priced at 6/4 to win the first test. If you fancy backing the visitors, you can do so by using our bet365 bonus code.

Joe Root has to step up in Australia

England talisman Joe Root will go down as one of the greatest Test batsmen in history. With 13,543 runs, he’s the second-highest run getter in the format, trailing the great Sachin Tendulkar. Root also averages 51.29 in the longest format of the game, but that drops to 35.68 when playing Down Under. He has scored 39 Test centuries, but none of them have come on an Australian pitch.

Panesar acknowledges that Root has underperformed in Australia and that he needs to step up. He also points to some changes the England great can make that will help him succeed against England’s biggest rivals.

"The reason Root struggles on Australian pitches is the pace and the bounce. He's used to playing late, his hand can sometimes get a bit low. He's used to playing in swinging conditions."

"The Australian bowlers peg him back by bowling short and then he starts feeling for the ball outside the off-stump. He needs to leave the ball better in Australia and he needs to to trust that."

"These sort of deliveries in England, he knocks them down to third-man but in Australia, you edge that, when you try to feel it or nudge it down. That's why he hasn't done well in Australia."

Panesar also backs Root to surpass Tendulkar’s standing as the most prolific Test batsman. He cites Root’s age and form as major factors and also believes that when Root becomes the highest run-getter in Test cricket, he won’t be surpassed.

"He's got every chance of doing that and he's still young. He's still got another three to four years left in him. He may even go past him as well."

"If I'm Joe Root, I'd be thinking that I'm gonna play as long as I can to break that record because imagine, once you finish your Test career, you are the highest run-getter. No one's probably ever going to break that record because of so much T20 cricket. So yeah, he would definitely be chasing that."

Australia’s strengths and weaknesses

When it comes to the hosts, Panesar sees their unsettled top order and over-reliance on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne as a major weakness. If England’s pace attack is able to dismiss Smith or Labuschagne, it can cause Australia to capitulate.

“I think the weakness is an unsettled top order for Australia. We’ve seen some of the explosive bowling that Jofra Archer has done at Lord's or even Mark Wood with Usman Khawaja at Headingley. That can get into their top orders’ head. If you get in early, Australia could be feeling the pressure but right now we don’t know their top 6 order or their number 3.”

"Marnus Labuschagne has been in the form of his life at the moment. He's scored five hundreds for Queensland in eight innings. If you get him early, suddenly Australia will be feeling the pressure."

"Normally Australia has a top six settled. We don't know what their top six looks like, we don't know their number three."

The Baggy Greens’ biggest strength is their experienced bowling lineup that boasts the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. That bowling attack is capable of winning matches, or helping get draws from disadvantageous situations. Panesar is hoping that ‘Bazball’ can disorient Australia’s bowlers, as that will be the key to winning the series.

"The advantage that Australia have is their strong bowling lineup. It's very experienced and that is where the difference is going to be. If the Australians bowl really well, that could be the difference between them winning or drawing."

"If England can do the Bazball on this experienced Australian bowling lineup, that could just blow them away and England could win the series."

Series Prediction

First Test in Perth

"I think England win the first Test. They'll be more excited, up for it, young energy. They've got fast bowlers. I think England will win that one."

Second Test at the Gabba

“If the ball moves around, I am going to go with England again. I think they will be 2-0 up.”

Third Test in Adelaide

“I think Australia will win in Adelaide. I think they will be tough to beat, and then England will be 2-1 up going to Melbourne.”

Boxing Day Test

“This depends a lot on the weather conditions. The rain is always around and I can probably see that as a draw or a win for Australia. Will the England bowlers be strong enough to sustain it? I am going to go with a win to Australia and 2-2 before the last one.”

Fifth Test at the Sydney Oval

“In Sydney, this is where the ball spins. I think it will be Nathan Lyon vs Shoaib Bashir. The spinner who bowls the best… If we see Bashir get more bounce than Lyon, I think England will win. But if Bashir somehow doesn’t sustain under the pressure, which he needs to do, I think Australia will win. I think this will be the battle of the spinners. That will be the deciding factor.”

Read more as Monty Panesar discusses Ben Stokes' role in the upcoming Ashes series