The China Mail - Pope says idea England 'weren't fussed' about the Ashes was tough to take

Ben Stokes' tourists went down to a 4-1 series loss to Australia over five Tests in 2025/26, with the troubled campaign still the subject of an England and Wales Cricket Board review.

In addition to their poor on-field performance, concerns about the culture of the England squad emerged during a break in Noosa, an Australian resort, where there were reports of excessive drinking by players.

This was followed by revelations that vice-captain Harry Brook had had an altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the pre-Ashes visit to New Zealand.

Pope, however, insists England's were fully focused on regaining the Ashes and might have been more successful had they cemented an encouraging start to the first Test in Perth.

"Going into that series, there was a lot spoken about the preparation of it," Pope told reporters on Tuesday. "As a team, the misconception might be that we weren't as fussed as it came across."

The 28-year-old, speaking at county side Surrey's media day, added: "The tough thing for everyone in that first game (Test) was the nature of it. Had we won that, and we'd done slightly better on day two, the idea is different.

"Of course we want to be a well-liked team, on and off the pitch, and unfortunately our performance didn't allow that to happen in Australia.

- 'Take the pressure off' -

"I can understand why people felt that way, but at the same time the perception that we weren't fussed was probably the hard thing. All we wanted to do was go and win the Ashes...All anyone wanted to do was to win.

"And for us at times it was just trying to, in our minds, take the pressure off the actual Test match."

Even before the trip started, questions were raised about a lack of preparation in Australian conditions, which consisted of a three-day match against the second-string England Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth.

"As we've done over the previous years, we tried to treat it like a normal series to get the best out of ourselves," said Pope. "Unfortunately, it didn't quite go to plan."

He added: "I know what I need to be as ready as I can be. From a personal point, I felt as ready as I could have been for that first Test."

Pope was dropped after the third Test after averaging only 20.83 runs across the first three games, with replacement Jacob Bethell going on to score a century in the fifth Test at Sydney.

But Pope insisted he was determined to regain his England place, saying: "I still feel like my best batting years are to come."

The Surrey batsman was speaking after the England and Wales Cricket Board went back on a plan to stop its Ashes players speaking to the media ahead of the new county season while it conducts its review.

V.Liu--ThChM