Is this England's worst ever Ashes series?

The pair have contributed to a 518 total for Australia, dwarfing the 384 managed by England so far in Sydney as the fifth and final test nears a conclusion.

The tourists have long-since given up hope of winning back the Ashes, but did at least end a 15-year wait for a test victory against Australia when they won the fourth outing in Melbourne.

Even so, it has been a crushing defeat that will likely stand at 4-1 to Australia when the action concludes. The home side had retained the Ashes at a much earlier point, after just 11 days, with a win in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, England's managing director Rob Key has said he will investigate so-called "stag do behaviour" with players looking worse for wear mid-series after a night out.

But is this England's worst Ashes ever? Here is how it compares to historic lows.

Is 2025-2026 England's worst ever Ashes?

By virtue of winning one test in Melbourne, England have avoided the 0-5 humiliation - which they most recently suffered in Australia in the 2013-14 series. England also lost the 1920-21 series 0-5 and again in 2006-07.

England has never achieved a 5-0 whitewash of Australia in a modern Test series but did win 5-1 in 1979.

Australia also won 4-0, with one match drawn, in 2017-18 and again in 2021-22, which means that by recent form Down Under, the 2025-26 campaign was not actually particularly poor for England.

Still, knowing that things could have been worse is little consolation for the team.

"We obviously came here with a goal in mind and we haven't been able to achieve it. It hurts and it sucks," England captain Ben Stokes said after the Adelaide loss.