Australia continued their remarkable home form in Tests, decimating England for the second time in the ongoing Ashes series to go 2-0 ahead. It was a Test match that swung back and forth for the first 4-5 sessions, before Australia started dictating terms, as they often do, especially at home, and ultimately proved too strong for England with bat, ball, and in the field. After falling 177 runs short in the first innings, captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks showed grit and fight to grind it out, but they could do it only for so long before Australia eventually prevailed.
England did make Australia bat second, but the target was in double digits and the hosts looked in a hurry and hence, finished things off in just 10 overs. The win meant that Australia continued their unbeaten run in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, having won all five matches they have played so far. Australia are the only team with 100 points percentage (PCT) and stayed at the top after the win at the Gabba.
On the other hand, England slipped to No 7, after three consecutive losses - one against India at the Oval in the final match of the five-match home series in August and now two against Australia. England's PCT has fallen to 30.95, which is lower than that of India, Pakistan and even New Zealand, who opened their account in the current cycle with a draw against the West Indies in Christchurch.
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 100 |
| 2. | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| 3. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4. | Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 5. | India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 52 | 48.15 |
| 6. | New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 33.33 |
| 7. | England | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 30.95 |
| 8. | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 9. | West Indies | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5.56 |
England really need to pull their socks up if they have to make a case for a spot in the WTC final because four losses in seven matches, in addition to a two-point deduction already, might have already rung the warning sirens for Ben Stokes and Co. With as many as four series to go and three matches in the ongoing Ashes series left, England have a lot of work to do and the time is running out.
For now, Australia and South Africa look good for a repeat of the 2025 WTC final in 2027, with New Zealand also a possible contender and it will need a superlative comeback from the likes of India and England to challenge those three.