What's He On About? Cricket Podcast · Charlie Harden

All my Thoughts on the Ashes 2025/26 Test Cricket Series!

·32 min·2 clips

Steve Smith versus Joe Root and Travis Head versus Harry Brook are the key matchups.

He starts by framing the show as 30 minutes of Ashes waffle with real thought behind it, not a tidy prediction segment. He says he has spent the last few weeks turning the series over in his head and even maps it out as a big green-ink mind map on an iPad. The toss comes first because he thinks it matters at Perth. He looks at how recent Tests in Australia have leaned more bowler-friendly than the old five-day batting marathon people expect, with greener surfaces and Sheffield Shield conditions feeding into that read. He then shifts to the fast-bowling picture. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are not in the team, while Mark Wood and Jofra Archer being fit changes England's side too. He says Mitchell Starc is still there and has even asked for bowler-friendly conditions. He argues that the gap between the bowling attacks may not look quite the same now, and that Australia could still use home conditions to make the match-up work in their favor. Nathan Lyon matters more if the surface gets drier or turns later, and he keeps circling back to the idea that a little less watering could still leave some early nip. The whole conversation keeps bouncing between surface, lineups, and what each side can squeeze out of the conditions. He also gets into pressure points on individual players and the key matchups he wants people watching. He finishes by naming the one combined 11 he thinks is right and then lands on two possible series outcomes: either Australia five-nil or England three-two.

As heard by us

An Ashes preview that keeps returning to Perth, selection, and conditions without losing its energy.

This episode is an Ashes preview built around what Perth may reward when the first Test begins. It moves briskly through the toss, England's warm-up, the Perth pitch, Australia's unsettled bowling picture, the key matchups, and the pressure on a few players, then lands on a…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Before the Ashes starts, get the toss talk, Perth pitch read, and the selection heat.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from What's He On About? Cricket Podcast