'Brainless' and 'stupid': 85-year-old ex-England cricketer blasts Ben Stokes-led team after 1st Ashes Test defeat to Australia

Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has criticised the England team following their loss in the first Ashes Test match against Australia in Perth, which concluded in just two days.

Boycott expressed his views in his column for The Telegraph UK, titled "I cannot take this stupid England team seriously anymore," where the 85-year-old criticised the team's approach.




"Before this series started Ben Stokes told the world that any ex-player who criticised them or had a different opinion were "has-beens" because Test cricket had changed and the past was irrelevant. Well, from this has been the message is simple: when you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things, it is impossible to take you seriously. They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity," he penned.

"It is simple. Brainless batting and bowling lost England the match. A 40-run lead on a fast bouncy low scoring pitch was huge and with Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope together at one stage England were in charge at effectively 100 for one. But as exciting as this England team can be, they are always only a blink of an eye away from self destruction."

"Bazball, bad judgement, overconfidence, whatever the reason it makes winning matches difficult. Against top teams like India and Australia, it is a huge factor in losing."

The first Test match saw significant action with 19 wickets falling on the opening day.

The second day witnessed 13 wickets, including England's complete second innings, where they could only set a target of 205 runs despite having a 40-run first-innings lead.

Travis Head played a remarkable innings for Australia, scoring 123 runs from just 83 balls.

Marnus Labuschagne contributed with a half-century as Australia successfully chased down the target.

Australia secured an eight-wicket victory to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

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