What was billed as England’s biggest chance to win an Ashes series on Australian soil in 15 years went the way of the three that preceded it.
The Ashes have not been in English hands since 2017, in line with some of the darkest, most barren runs against Australia in the history of the oldest rivalry, harking back to the 1930s and 40s, 1960s and 1990s.
But ahead of the final Test in Sydney and before a review of what went wrong takes shape, Daily Mail Sport identifies the players that can help win back the urn in 18 months’ time, and finally end the curse Down Under in 2029-30.
1. Ben McKinney (Durham)
A giant at the crease, whose fledgling career already includes a run-a-ball 110 for England Lions against Australia 12 months ago.
That was one of four first-class hundreds for the 6ft 7in left-handed opener who began last season by hitting a career-best 153 in the opening home match against Warwickshire, earning an early season name check from men’s director of cricket Rob Key in the process.
A dip in form followed, but despite temporarily losing his county place, he maintained his standing within the England Lions setup and now aged 21 has two tours of experience down under to fall back on, having struck twin 50s in the internal pre-Ashes match at Lilac Hill.
Durham opener Ben McKinney is a giant at the crease, whose fledgling career already includes a run-a-ball 110 for England Lions against Australia 12 months ago
2. James Rew (Somerset)
Another 21-year-old, it already feels like the flame-haired, wicketkeeper-batsman has been around forever.
The ECB’s appreciation of the left-hander’s skill and temperament date back to 2021 when he was selected for a County Select XI versus India, and he has made good on his promise, celebrating his 10th first-class hundred during the 2025 county season. Not since Denis Compton in 1939 had an Englishman reached the landmark at such an age.
He struggled to convince Lions coach Andrew Flintoff he was worth a place ahead of his 18-year-old brother Thomas during the recent tour of Australia, amid suggestions that his fitness was shy of elite level. But he has a versatile game, highlighted by averages of 40 in both four-day and 50-over cricket.
James Rew (right) with his younger brother Thomas, both of whom are rising stars at Somerset
3. Tawanda Muyeye (Kent)
An elegant opening batsman who turns 25 in March, his stroke play offers a throwback to previous generations.
Muyeye’s own past is a mixture of tape ball cricket in his native Zimbabwe and a stellar period with Eastbourne College which saw him named Wisden’s schools cricketer of the year in 2020. His future, he hopes, is with England, having arrived in the UK as a political refugee.
The four-year residency requirement for permanent leave to remain expires in 2027, and so the next 18 months offer the opportunity to build on a start to a county career that had a throng of other counties led by Hampshire circling last summer, until he signed a new deal at Canterbury.
An elegant opening batsman who turns 25 in March, Tawanda Muyeye’s stroke play offers a throwback to previous generations
4. Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire)
On the periphery of selection for this tour, injury then ruled him out of the England Lions’ fixtures, denying the all-rounder a chance to develop his skills in Australian conditions.
England’s youngest player across all three formats should be coming into his own by the time the 2027 Ashes gets under way and is potentially the long-term successor to Ben Stokes as the Test team’s all-rounder.
At 21, he already has six first-class hundreds to his name – five of them in Leicestershire’s 2025 Division Two title-winning campaign – and appears to be better placed to make the most of his wide-ranging attributes than fellow leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
At the same age, Yorkshire’s Rashid had four of his 10 career centuries, but placed more of a focus on bowling as he hit his mid-20s.
If Ahmed can merit a top-six place, his wrist spin would be a welcome inclusion in the team’s attacking armoury.
At 21, Rehan Ahmed already has six first-class hundreds to his name – five of them in Leicestershire’s 2025 Division Two title-winning campaign
As England’s youngest Test debutant, at Karachi in 2022, he took five wickets and helped Ben Stokes’ side to a famous 3-0 series whitewash
5. Harry Moore (Derbyshire)
A strapping fast bowler who does not turn 19 until next season is under way.
After becoming Derbyshire’s youngest debutant in 2023, the Midlands county’s head coach Mickey Arthur – who has coached four countries at international level – said he was ‘hand on heart,’ the best 17-year-old he’d ever worked with.
He missed the entire 2025 season with that pace-bowling rite of passage, the stress fracture of the back, and will be treated carefully in the short term.
Over a longer time frame the physical attributes of height, long levers and speed through the air suggest he can replicate the kind of success Josh Tongue has enjoyed on the international stage.
Derbyshire quick Harry Moore is a strapping fast bowler who does not turn 19 until next season is under way
The middle son of a public school chaplain, Eddie Jack’s background is not that of your archetypal fast bowler, but at 6ft 3in his build certainly is
6. Eddie Jack (Hampshire)
One of those to receive a pace development contract in the autumn, 20-year-old Jack’s rise saw him drafted into both a County Select XI to face Zimbabwe and a Lions team locking horns with India A last summer.
Not long after, he received a surprise call to join England’s squad for the first Test of five versus India in Leeds, meeting Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum for the first time, before being released three days out from the series opener to feature in Twenty20 Blast action for Hampshire.
The middle son of a public school chaplain, his background is not that of your archetypal fast bowler, but at 6ft 3in his build certainly is.
Able to rush opponents, he bases his overall game on Australia captain Pat Cummins’ relentless pursuit of the top of off-stump.
