Ashes 2025-26: Nasser Hussain urges Ben Stokes to start the tough conversations with teammates after Perth & Brisbane defeats

Nasser Hussain believes that it’s high time England captain Ben Stokes starts having tough conversations with his teammates after losing the first two matches against Australia in Perth and Brisbane. Stokes has always been very positive about his teammates ever since he took charge as captain of the Test side and joined forces with head coach Brendon McCullum.

However, the ultra-aggressive Bazball approach, which brought the Three Lions a lot of praise for making Test cricket entertaining for the fans of T20 cricket, is being criticised left, right, and centre.

“They are not thinking smart,” Hussain wrote in his recent column for The Athletic, adding that the team “are not thinking straight under pressure.”

“He has to look those players in the eye and decide who is mentally strong enough because England cannot afford another game of just rocking up and playing the same way.” He argued that some players appear burdened by past failures, and Stokes must determine “who is thinking ‘here we go again’ as opposed to ‘I’m going to put an end to this’.”

While England were bowled out for 172 and 164, respectively, in the first Test, they could muster a better effort with the bat in the second. The Three Lions lost the match by eight wickets, even after scoring 334 and 241 runs in the first and second innings, respectively.

Apart from Root’s century in the first innings of the second Test, England’s batting has been abysmal. While the conditions have mostly favoured the bowlers, England have been guilty of going to the short-ball ploy too soon or trying different things too early when they have the ball in hand.

Travis Head is the leading run-getter for Australia in the first two matches. Meanwhile, Root tops the charts among England batters. On the other hand, Mitchell Starc has been in red-hot form with the ball, bagging 18 wickets from two games. The series is poised at 2-0, and the third Test is set to be played at Adelaide from December 17 onwards.