England captain Ben Stokes struck an emotional and defiant tone on Wednesday, placing player welfare above all else as allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-Ashes beach break continue to swirl around his side. Without directly addressing the claims, Stokes made it clear that his priority was protecting his players from what he described as an intense and unforgiving spotlight.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Stokes faced a barrage of questions ahead of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne following British media reports about England’s stay in Noosa between the second and third Tests. Unverified footage circulating on social media appeared to show opener Ben Duckett intoxicated, fuelling comparisons in parts of the press to a “stag-do”. England cricket chief Rob Key has since promised an investigation, while the England and Wales Cricket Board said it was intent on establishing the facts.
“I’m obviously aware of the reports and everything circulating around right now,” Stokes said, choosing his words carefully. “My main concern right now is my players, and how I handle this moment right now is the most important thing to me.”Emphasising his role as captain, Stokes repeatedly returned to the issue of mental wellbeing. “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,” he said. “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.”Stokes spoke of the value of internal backing during difficult moments. “It’s a very tough place to be in 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,” he added. Asked directly whether players had done anything wrong in Noosa, Stokes shut down the line of questioning: “I’ve just answered everything there.”
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England’s Queensland retreat followed heavy defeats in Perth and Brisbane, and preceded another loss in Adelaide that confirmed Australia had retained the Ashes. Reports suggested several players drank heavily over multiple days, even while noting that “nothing outrageous” occurred.Stokes conceded scrutiny was inevitable given the results. “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 now gone 18 Tests without a win in Australia, their latest collapse seeing the Ashes decided in just 11 days of play — a stark backdrop as Stokes seeks to steady his players amid mounting pressure.
