🏏 Ashes Ratings: Duckett, Pope Careers in Doubt

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Key Takeaways

1📊 Pope Ashes top-six avg: 17.6—worst since 1900 bar Amiss
2🏆 Australia seals Ashes 3-0 via Adelaide 82-run victory
3💡 Duckett rated 2: 'Huge concern' after opener collapse
4🔮 Post-series clearout looms for England's strugglers
5💬 Crawley (6): Fight shown, but needs 100 for safety

"Chief cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt marks the performances of the Australia and England teams after the third Test in Adelaide."

Australia clinched the Ashes 3-0 with an 82-run thrashing of England in Adelaide, prompting brutal player ratings that question Ben Duckett's (2/10) and Ollie Pope's (2/10) Test futures amid a dismal campaign. Duckett's world-class opener tag evaporated with six failures, while Pope's Ashes top-six average of 17.6 rivals historical lows since 1900. This rout extends England's Australian winless streak to 18, fueling post-series reckoning.

Duckett entered with flair—32 Tests, avg 38.65, strike rate 82—but collapsed under pressure, his predictable flops a series standout concern. Pope, post-2023 heroics, regressed: 16 Ashes top-six innings averaging 17.6, matching Dennis Amiss's infamous mark. Joe Root (4/10) managed starts without impact, as England's Bazball flickered but faded against Australia's dominance, their prep lacking proper warm-ups.

Top-Order Nightmares Exposed

Ratings reveal execution gaps: Duckett (2) lost presence, averaging 12.3 with tentative prods; Pope (2) risks 'Test career over,' his 17.6 Ashes avg worse than most since 1900. Zak Crawley (6) showed fight in a gritty second-innings knock, needing a ton for security. Stats sting: England's openers combined under 20 avg, echoing 2013-14's 5-0 whitewash where top order crumbled similarly on seaming tracks.

Series Defeat Sparks Clearout Fears

Australia's earliest urn retention underscores England's self-inflicted wounds—poor prep admitted by McCullum, winless in Oz for 14 years. Implications loom: post-tour axe for underperformers like Pope (16 poor innings), while Root's middling scores pressure veterans. Standings irrelevant now, but trajectory questions Bazball's sustainability against elite pace.

Rebuild or Reset for England?

Two dead rubbers remain, but focus shifts to 2026-27 cycles—will Stokes oversee changes? Crawley's adaptability hints at survivors; fans track if ratings predict squad overhaul, making MCG a proving ground for futures.