Captain Ben Stokes said protecting England players’ welfare was his top concern amid claims of excessive drinking on a mid-Ashes beach break, without directly addressing the allegations.
Stokes was peppered with questions on Wednesday ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne about the team’s behaviour at Noosa between the second and third Tests after British media reports compared it with a “stag-do”.
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Unverified social media footage appeared to show opener Ben Duckett drunk and disoriented.
Their disastrous five-Test tour, which has seen Australia take an unassailable 3-0 lead, took another hit on Wednesday when pace spearhead Jofra Archer was ruled out of the rest of the series with a side strain.
England cricket chief Rob Key on Tuesday pledged to investigate the drinking claims, while the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement it was intent on establishing the facts.
Stokes, whose team have already lost the Ashes, said his main concern was the players’ mental welfare and to ensure they were ready for the Melbourne Test starting Friday.
“I’m obviously aware of the reports and everything circulating around right now,” Stokes said.
“My main concern is my players, and how I handle this moment is the most important thing to me.
“The welfare of everyone in there, and probably some certain individuals as well, is the most important thing to me right now as England captain.
“It’s never a nice place to be in when not only the media world, but also the social media world, is piling on top of you,” he added.
“It’s a very tough place to be in as an individual. As an individual, when you know you’ve got the support of the people who are sort of leaders, in a sense, it’s very good to know that you’ve got that support.”
Asked directly whether his teammates had “done anything wrong in Noosa”, Stokes replied: “I’ve just answered everything there.”
Stokes calls for focus as spotlight increases on England
England went to Queensland tourist resort Noosa after losing the first two Tests in Perth and Brisbane heavily.
They spent several days on the sand and around restaurants and bars before travelling to Adelaide, where they lost the third Test as Australia retained the Ashes.
Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported that “after drowning their sorrows after the Brisbane Test, it is no exaggeration to say some, certainly not all, players drank for five or six days”.
It added that players “did nothing outrageous in Noosa” but there was concern over the level of drinking, with England’s professionalism already under the microscope after their limited preparations.
Stokes conceded that when a side was losing, there would be scrutiny, and “rightly so”.
“When you are 3-0 down you don’t really have a leg to stand on but we’ve got two games of cricket to play. That’s what we have to focus on,” he said.
“We haven’t won a game in Australia for a long, long time.”
England have gone 18 Tests since winning a match in Australia, dating back to their last series victory there in 2010-11.
Their capitulation in this series in 11 days of play is the joint second quickest in more than a century, since the 1921 Ashes was completed in eight days.
Making matters worse, Archer will take no further part in the tour, with Gus Atkinson replacing him in Melbourne.
The under-performing Ollie Pope paid for his poor form at number three, with Jacob Bethell taking over in the only other change.
England’s Test woes in contrast to Australia’s Ashes high
Bowling with the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps can bruise a fast bowler’s ego, but Australia paceman Scott Boland said Alex Carey’s stellar glovework in the ongoing Ashes series has helped him grow comfortable with it.
Carey’s wicketkeeping masterclass has been a key factor in Australia’s unassailable lead in the five-match series, and the 34-year-old was particularly impressive in the second Test at the Gabba, where he stood up to Boland and Michael Neser.
With the wicketkeeper breathing down their necks, English batters were pretty much confined to the crease, which meant the home bowlers did not really need to vary their length.
“I’ve just never really bowled to the keeper up to the stumps before,” Boland told reporters ahead of the fourth Test.
“Everyone wants to be a fast bowler, and you don’t really like the keeper up to the stumps.
“But I’ve seen over the last month how effective it is and how still I can keep their batters by Alex being up to the stumps.”
Wicketkeepers typically stand farther back from the stumps when facing fast bowlers to give themselves more time to react to the high speed and bounce of the ball, reducing the risk of missed catches.
Even from close range, Carey showed tremendous reflexes to pouch a thick edge from Ben Stokes after the England captain had nicked a Neser delivery in the second innings.
Dismissals like that gave confidence to Boland that he could continue bowling his edge-inducing length balls regardless of where Carey stood.
“I just need to trust that the length balls I bowl to try and nick guys off is the same length I bowl when he’s up to the stumps or back,” the 36-year-old said.
“The Gabba was pretty bouncy and he was up to the stumps for a bit of it and catching balls above waist-high and I bowled a bouncer and he caught that, so I have full trust in him up there.”
Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy called Carey “clearly the best in the world”, while teammate Steve Smith termed him a “freak”.
