Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Johnson: Are England "too psychologically damaged" to turn Ashes around?
SEN • December 15th, 2025 9:39 am
With Australia 2-0 up in the Ashes series heading into Adelaide, Mitchell Johnson is not convinced there is a whitewash coming but believes England are too psychologically damaged to mount much of a comeback.
Conditions at the Adelaide Oval are expected to suit the England side, but given the display in the six days of test cricket fans have witnessed thus far, that will mean precious little to supporters hoping for the series to stay alive for Boxing Day.
Play was over in just two days in Perth and while Brisbane produced double that, Australia claimed 8-wicket victories in both Tests.
Many have called for Brendan McCullum to be sacked and declared this tour "the death of BazBall".
Writing for the UK Times, former Australia fast bowler Johnson has identified two main factors he would want fixed if he were part of the travelling team.
The first is the skipper, Ben Stokes and the perceived unity of the team.
“I know Ben Stokes’ leadership is talked about highly in England but he probably could have done more as captain in Brisbane to help his bowlers,” Johnson wrote. “He just sort of let it happen.
“You’ve also got to have everyone working together, and that’s not what’s happening. They’re not working in partnerships. Jofra Archer has to be bowling fast like he did in those last few overs of the game, but the guy at the other end has to back him up by playing his role too.”
No stranger to the hostility of the Ashes, Johnson was on the receiving end of plenty from England fans and the media during his career.
He is all too aware of how much impact the noise can have and has encouraged Stokes and his men to do more to block it out.
“Playing away from home when you are not winning, it can be incredibly hard to block out all the external noise,” he wrote. “Maybe some of this England team are struggling with that. It becomes a struggle if you listen to everything that’s been said.
“I know what it was like as a player — going to England, I was definitely caught up in it at times — and you’d go back to an empty room and start to dwell on the day’s play. You can overthink it, start to read things and believe them, and it can have a big impact. That’s what England have tried to counter by going to the beach resort of Noosa, and not getting stuck in a hotel.”
As for a whitewash?
“Perhaps too much psychological damage has already been done. I don’t think it will be 5-0, but clearly the potential is there.”
