England retreats back to Noosa after Ashes drubbing in Brisbane
England’s struggling Ashes team has retreated to Noosa’s beaches after suffering two Test defeats, with Aussie great Glenn McGrath warning of a potential 5-0 whitewash.
Even on the white sands of Noosa, the wounded England Ashes team couldn’t avoid a game of cricket.
Captain Ben Stokes was seen strolling along the beach as some kids played a game.
He also posed for selfies, while coach and Bazball mastermind Brendon McCullum took a dip — perhaps in an attempt to cool the heat over his team’s pre-planned getaway to the Sunshine Coast after England’s poor showing in the first two Tests.
Other England stars Will Jacks, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson and Zak Crawley were spotted looking relaxed at Rococo Bistro & Bar on Hastings Street.
Post their second loss of the series, Stokes said after four weeks of intense pressure on and off the field in Australia, it was important his team got a break as his team looked to regroup ahead of the Third Test in Adelaide.
“Trust me when I say it is so-so important that teams when they do get an occasion or an opportunity to be able to go away as a team and just put the pressures of this [game] aside for a couple of days,” he said on Sunday night.
Former fast bowling great Glenn McGrath told The Courier-Mail after the Gabba Test that England’s willingness to finally make players accountable in the third Test in Adelaide starting next week could determine whether the Ashes spirals completely out of control towards another whitewash.
“There is still an opportunity to get 5-0,” McGrath said.
“I think it’s interesting to listen to the English after that.
“I think they’ve finally identified that they can’t just keep playing the way they want to play and everything’s going be fine.
“So the next Test is going to be a big one, especially for them.”
McGrath said Australia would likely be even more dangerous with the expected return of captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon to boost the bowling stocks.
“If Australia come out and are dominant again and win that game three-nil, that could quite easily be five nil,” he said.
“So it’s up to England to bounce back now.”
