The Ashes series is regarded by many as the pinnacle of Test cricket. Even fans of other nations eagerly look forward to the meeting of two of the grand old teams of the sport. Entire careers have been made from exemplary performances in the almost 150 years of competition between England and Australia, and those playing in the 2025-26 series will be hoping to join an exclusive club of legends.
We all have our own Ashes memories. For some, it will be Ian Botham almost single-handedly winning the Headingley test in 1981. For those of an Australian persuasion, Shane Warne’s “ball of the century” against Mike Gatting will stand out. There will, no doubt, be plenty of new moments to remember from the current series.
But sometimes all the planning and preparation is for nothing. Months of hard work and training are swept away as a team collapses under the onslaught of the opponent’s bowling attack. The lowest-ever Ashes innings total was the measly 36 scored by Australia in 1902 (in a drawn match), but here are five of the worst in recent history.
2010 – Australia at the MCG, 98
The Aussie domination of the 1990s was ancient history by the time England travelled down under in 2010. The famous victory in 2005 was still fresh in the mind, and it had even gained revenge for the resulting whitewash victory for Australia a year later. By the time the fourth test in Melbourne came around in 2010, the series was intriguingly poised at one win apiece.
Both sides had won by large margins previously, and the result of this test would be crucial. As holders, England would retain the Ashes with a win, while Australia needed to win to keep the series alive. England won the toss and put Australia into bat – and from there everything went wrong for the hosts. Michael Clarke top-scored with 20, with all ten wickets caught behind the stumps. England then ran up a formidable first innings total of 513 and ended up winning on day four by an innings and 157 runs.
2002 – England at the Gabba, 79
It had all been so different eight years earlier. Australia were on the verge of retaining the Ashes for the seventh consecutive time, a record in the history of the famous series. England had lost a number of the warm-up games and not many people gave Nassar Hussein’s team much chance as it prepared for the first test in Brisbane.
The England captain actually won the toss but made what Wisden called “one of the costliest decisions in test history” in putting Australia into bat. A terrible day in the field brought no wickets at all on the first day, and the hosts finished the first innings on 492. England fought back manfully, but a late collapse and another fine Aussie innings set a target of 464 runs for victory. But Michael Vaughan was caught LBW with the third ball of the second innings, and it went downhill from there. Mark Butcher scored more than the rest of the team put together, as England limped to just 79 and a defeat by 384 runs.
2021 – England at the MCG, 68
The most recent collapse in our brief trip into the batting debacles of 21st-century Ashes tests, the 2021-22 series was played under the shadow of the COVID pandemic, and illness did nothing to help England’s cause against a rampant Australian side. The hosts won both the opening tests in Brisbane and Adelaide by commanding margins, and the contest at the MCG would be just as one-sided.
England was sent into bat and, once again, experienced batting woes. A first innings total of 185 was easily surpassed by Australia, and England were batting again as early as day two of the encounter. Joe Root had attempted a fightback but, by stumps, England were 31-4. By the time of the fifth over on the third day, England had lost five wickets, and a swift collapse saw Root’s men manage just 68, England’s lowest innings total on Australian soil since 1904.
Australia had won back the Ashes a year earlier and travelled to England in 2019 hoping to win a series there for the first time in 18 years. The tourists brought David Warner, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft, who had all been banned due to a ball-tampering scandal, and would win the first test. With the second drawn, all eyes were on England to get back into the series at Headingley.
A rain-affected start saw Australia struggle to just 179 with only Warner and Labuschagne scoring anything of note. Day two began with England batting, but the brighter conditions brought the hosts no luck. Only Joe Denly broke into double digits, and although there was just one duck, England finished on just 67. Australia rallied in its second innings, but thanks to a team effort – and an incredible performance from Ben Stokes – England chased down its highest-ever run chase to win by one wicket.
2015 – Australia at Trent Bridge, 60
Now for the lowest innings total in an Ashes test in recent history. Australia had completed a clean sweep in the 2013-14 series after a brief spell of English domination. Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens would host an Ashes test for only the second time to kick things off, and any concerns over potential weather issues were dismissed as the home side won fairly easily. Australia would win just as convincingly at Lord’s (the first victory in England since 2009), before the hosts claimed the third test at Edgbaston.
Each of the tests had been won decisively, and the fourth at Trent Bridge would go the same way. Rain delayed the start of play, but even without James Anderson, England skittled through the Aussies. Three of the first four batsmen would go for a duck, and when Stuart Broad finished the innings with eight wickets for just 15 runs, Australia had scored more runs from extras than from its highest-scoring batsman. England won by an innings and 78 runs, humiliating Australia in the process.
