English cricket is getting ugly - no wonder players are packing it in

If something doesn't change, the Ashes could be lost

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England will hope that getting crushed in a series opener on the back of limited preparation will not be a theme over the coming weeks, given they will enter this winter’s Ashes series on the back of just a single three-day warm-up match.

The seven-wicket mauling by South Africa in the opening ODI at Headingley on Tuesday was ugly. Yet there were mitigating circumstances given this was a series that begun just two days after the conclusion of the Hundred and that England’s weary players had gone three months without playing 50-over cricket.

Harry Brook, who suffered his first defeat as white-ball captain on his home ground, was in no mood to make excuses after his team were hammered having been bowled out for 131 in just 24.3 overs.

However, the schedule is clearly not helping England, a point underlined by the fact that there will be less than 48 hours between the end of the first ODI and the start of the second at Lord’s on Thursday.

Brook was one of six players in England’s XI in Leeds who had been involved in the gruelling five-Test series against India earlier in the summer. He had three days’ rest after that emotionally draining centrepiece of the summer before he started playing in the Hundred as the Northern Superchargers captain.

SEALED WITH A SIX! South Africa smash England in the first ODI at Headingley 🇿🇦👏 pic.twitter.com/6tBgJd9HRK — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 2, 2025

Of those who played at Headingley on Tuesday, Joe Root and Will Jacks did not even get a chance to train with their team-mates ahead of the first ODI given they had taken part in the Hundred final less than 48 hours earlier.

This jam-packed schedule does not get any easier. England travel to New Zealand for a white-ball tour in October, with Brook likely to lead a squad that will contain several others involved in the Ashes.

There will be 20 days in between the final ODI against the Black Caps in Hamilton on 29 October and the Ashes opener in Perth on 21 November.

Before that, there will be less than three weeks between the three-match T20 series in Ireland and the departure for New Zealand. Brook and several other all-format stars are being rested for that jaunt to Dublin.

England men’s cricket schedule – remaining 2025-26 fixtures Home ODI series vs South Africa Second ODI: 4 September – Lord’s

Third ODI: 7 September – Utilita Bowl Home T20 series vs South Africa First T20: 10 September – Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Second T20: 12 September – Emirates Old Trafford

Third T20: 14 September – Trent Bridge Away T20 series vs Ireland First T20: 17 September – Malahide, Dublin

Second T20: 19 September – Malahide, Dublin

Third T20: 21 September – Malahide, Dublin Away T20 series vs New Zealand First T20: 18 October – Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Second T20: 20 October – Hagley Oval, Christchurch

Third T20: 23 October – Eden Park, Auckland Away ODI series vs New Zealand First ODI: 26 October – Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

Second ODI: 29 October – Seddon Park, Hamilton

Third ODI: 1 November – Sky Stadium, Wellington Away Ashes Test series vs Australia First Test: 21-25 November – Optus Stadium, Perth

Second Test: 4-8 December – The Gabba, Brisbane

Third Test: 17-21 December – Adelaide Oval

Fourth Test: 25-29 December – Melbourne Cricket Ground

Fifth Test: 3-7 January – Sydney Cricket Ground

But Jacob Bethell, who will captain the team, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker and Matthew Potts are all in with a chance of making the squad for both New Zealand and the Ashes.

This relentless schedule doesn’t stop after the Ashes either. England start a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka less than a fortnight after the final Test against Australia in Sydney. Then there’s a T20 World Cup on the sub-continent straight after that.

England can have no excuses for their dismantling against South Africa (Photo: Getty)

No wonder Jamie Overton decided to pack in red-ball cricket indefinitely this week given the toll such a workload can take. He will get around £200,000 for playing for Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash this winter. As an uncontracted England player, he would have got a tour fee of £86,000 for being in the Ashes squad.

Of course, Test cricket should be the priority. But the economics for someone like Overton don’t make sense. Others will surely follow him.

Even for those who are earning plenty from England deals, the packed schedule makes playing all formats increasingly fraught.

It’s why England will play just one three-day warm-up game before the Ashes and even that is only against the Lions. Gone are the days of several tough tour matches against Australian opposition to acclimatise to conditions.

Back in 2010-11, the last time England won a series in Australia, they had three testing warm-up matches as preparation. Doing so in the modern era is not feasible unless the schedule is cut.

Richard Thompson, the England & Wales Cricket Board chairman, defended the Ashes build-up back in July, saying the tour of New Zealand would be “good preparation” for Australia. Yet switching between formats is not easy, as we saw in Leeds earlier this week.

In an ideal world, England would not be in New Zealand ahead of the Ashes. Instead they would have a month in Australia preparing.

But it’s not happening. England have gone into recent Test series in India, Pakistan and New Zealand with minimal preparation and won the first Test. It’s telling, though, they won just one of those series.

Australia, the highest-pressure tour of them all, is also very different. It can be an unforgiving place for an England team at the best of times. Failing to prepare properly risks the team starting slowly and struggling to catch-up.

That’s not saying they cannot win Down Under this winter. But England have to ask themselves if they’re giving themselves the best chance. A lack of preparation could be used as a valid excuse for a series defeat. But if that comes to pass, they would only have themselves to blame.

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