4 hours ago
4
Captain Ben Stokes said protecting England players’ payment was his apical interest amid claims of excessive drinking connected a mid-Ashes formation break, without straight addressing the allegations.
Stokes was peppered with questions connected Wednesday up of the Boxing Day Test successful Melbourne astir the team’s behaviour astatine Noosa betwixt the second and 3rd Tests aft British media reports compared it with a “stag-do”.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 45-time large victor Koepka quits lucrative LIV Golf circuit to absorption connected family
- list 2 of 4Wasteful Nigeria borderline past Tanzania to marque winning commencement to AFCON 2025
- list 3 of 4AFCON: Jackson astatine the treble arsenic Senegal decision Botswana 3-0
- list 4 of 4AFCON 2025: All to cognize astir Africa’s largest shot tournament
Unverified societal media footage appeared to amusement opener Ben Duckett drunk and disoriented.
Their disastrous five-Test tour, which has seen Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead, took different deed connected Wednesday erstwhile gait spearhead Jofra Archer was ruled retired of the remainder of the bid with a broadside strain.
England cricket main Rob Key connected Tuesday pledged to analyse the drinking claims, portion the England and Wales Cricket Board said successful a connection it was intent connected establishing the facts.
Stokes, whose squad person already mislaid the Ashes, said his main interest was the players’ intelligence payment and to guarantee they were acceptable for the Melbourne Test starting Friday.
“I’m evidently alert of the reports and everything circulating astir close now,” Stokes said.
“My main interest is my players, and however I grip this infinitesimal is the astir important happening to me.
“The payment of everyone successful there, and astir apt immoderate definite individuals arsenic well, is the astir important happening to maine close present arsenic England captain.
“It’s ne'er a bully spot to beryllium successful erstwhile not lone the media world, but besides the societal media world, is piling connected apical of you,” helium added.
“It’s a precise pugnacious spot to beryllium successful arsenic an individual. As an individual, erstwhile you cognize you’ve got the enactment of the radical who are benignant of leaders, successful a sense, it’s precise bully to cognize that you’ve got that support.”
Asked straight whether his teammates had “done thing incorrect successful Noosa”, Stokes replied: “I’ve conscionable answered everything there.”
Stokes calls for absorption arsenic spotlight increases connected England
England went to Queensland tourer edifice Noosa aft losing the archetypal 2 Tests successful Perth and Brisbane heavily.
They spent respective days connected the soil and astir restaurants and bars earlier travelling to Adelaide, wherever they mislaid the 3rd Test arsenic Australia retained the Ashes.
Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported that “after drowning their sorrows aft the Brisbane Test, it is nary exaggeration to accidental some, surely not all, players drank for 5 oregon six days”.
It added that players “did thing outrageous successful Noosa” but determination was interest implicit the level of drinking, with England’s professionalism already nether the microscope aft their constricted preparations.
England skipper Ben Stokes, right, and manager Brendon McCullum are some nether unit pursuing the side’s failures successful Australia [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]Stokes conceded that erstwhile a broadside was losing, determination would beryllium scrutiny, and “rightly so”.
“When you are 3-0 down you don’t truly person a limb to basal connected but we’ve got 2 games of cricket to play. That’s what we person to absorption on,” helium said.
“We haven’t won a crippled successful Australia for a long, agelong time.”
England person gone 18 Tests since winning a lucifer successful Australia, dating backmost to their past bid triumph determination successful 2010-11.
Their capitulation successful this bid successful 11 days of play is the associated 2nd quickest successful much than a century, since the 1921 Ashes was completed successful 8 days.
Making matters worse, Archer volition instrumentality nary further portion successful the tour, with Gus Atkinson replacing him successful Melbourne.
The under-performing Ollie Pope paid for his mediocre signifier astatine fig three, with Jacob Bethell taking implicit successful the lone different change.
England’s Test woes successful opposition to Australia’s Ashes high
Bowling with the wicketkeeper lasting up to the stumps tin bruise a accelerated bowler’s ego, but Australia paceman Scott Boland said Alex Carey’s stellar glovework successful the ongoing Ashes bid has helped him turn comfy with it.
Carey’s wicketkeeping masterclass has been a cardinal origin successful Australia’s unassailable pb successful the five-match series, and the 34-year-old was peculiarly awesome successful the 2nd Test astatine the Gabba, wherever helium stood up to Boland and Michael Neser.
With the wicketkeeper breathing down their necks, English batters were beauteous overmuch confined to the crease, which meant the location bowlers did not truly request to alteration their length.
“I’ve conscionable ne'er truly bowled to the keeper up to the stumps before,” Boland told reporters up of the 4th Test.
“Everyone wants to beryllium a accelerated bowler, and you don’t truly similar the keeper up to the stumps.
“But I’ve seen implicit the past period however effectual it is and however inactive I tin support their batters by Alex being up to the stumps.”
Wicketkeepers typically basal farther backmost from the stumps erstwhile facing accelerated bowlers to springiness themselves much clip to respond to the precocious velocity and bounce of the ball, reducing the hazard of missed catches.
Even from adjacent range, Carey showed tremendous reflexes to pouch a heavy borderline from Ben Stokes aft the England skipper had nicked a Neser transportation in the 2nd innings.
Dismissals similar that gave assurance to Boland that helium could proceed bowling his edge-inducing magnitude balls careless of wherever Carey stood.
“I conscionable request to spot that the magnitude balls I vessel to effort and nick guys disconnected is the aforesaid magnitude I vessel erstwhile he’s up to the stumps oregon back,” the 36-year-old said.
“The Gabba was beauteous bouncy and helium was up to the stumps for a spot of it and catching balls supra waist-high and I bowled a bouncer and helium caught that, truthful I person afloat spot in him up there.”
Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy called Carey “clearly the champion successful the world”, portion teammate Steve Smith termed him a “freak”.
English (US) ·