Ben Stokes has called for the public and the media to show “empathy” towards his embattled England players. It comes as their Ashes campaign threatens to fully unravel in response to a guaranteed series defeat and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-tour break in Noosa.
Sitting 3-0 down going into the Boxing Day Test, England have been hit by reports that their downtime in between the defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide was akin to a “stag do”. The emergence of footage appearing to show Ben Duckett drunk and slurring his words on a night out has heightened things.
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The video, taken by an English traveller called “Sam” and posted on social media, has not cost Duckett his place albeit England have made changes to their XI for the fourth Test. Jofra Archer’s tour is over with a side strain, Ollie Pope has been dropped, with Jacob Bethell and Gus Atkinson coming in.
Whether these tweaks can change the direction of this failed tour remains to be seen. Stokes declined to comment on the specifics in Noosa – an internal review is being undertaken – but admitted he faces a battle to lift a side that is dealing with a wave of criticism.
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“My main concern right now is my players,” said Stokes. “The welfare of everyone in there, and some certain individuals as well, is the most important thing to me right now – to get them into the best possible state to try and perform for their country and for the remainder of this trip.”
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue.
Visibly emotional in his pre-match press conference, Stokes gave a rare nod to his own experiences in the spotlight, most likely the Bristol street fight in 2017 that eventually saw him cleared of affray in court.
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The 34-year-old also took time out of the game in 2021 after suffering panic attacks triggered by the fallout from that episode and the death of his father.
Stokes: “This kind of stuff is very … I don’t know if close to me is the right wording, but I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people.
“It’s never a nice place to be in when not only the media world, but also the social media world, is just piling on top of you. You don’t really have a leg to stand on when you have lost three games in a huge series like this. When you’re winning, everything’s great. When you’re losing, it’s not.
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“Just in this moment right now, I think a little bit of empathy from everyone would be not too hard to think about, if that makes sense.”
On Duckett, averaging 16 in this series and part of a faltering top three that is at least refreshed by Bethell’s inclusion, Stokes said: “He’s an incredibly influential person within this group. But he knows that he’s got the support of myself and the other guys around him as well.
“I’ve had some pretty good times over my career. I’ve also had some pretty tough times. This is probably the toughest time right now as an England captain that I’ll have. I ain’t going to run away from it.”
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While there is broader discussion to be had over alcohol consumption and its compatibility with international sport, England’s four-night break on the Sunshine Coast sits low on the list of reasons as to why they are 3-0 down.
Nevertheless, the episode does feel emblematic of a campaign that began with optimism but has since malfunctioned through a combination of poor preparation off the field and poor decision-making on it.
Archer’s injury simply represents another blow. Picked up by scan on Tuesday and set to see him fly home next week, it now sees him facing a race to be fit for the T20 World Cup in India that starts in February.
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