England is ‘miserable and freezing cold’: Why fun police won’t stop Ben Stokes loving Australia
England captain Ben Stokes has declared Australia ‘the best country to tour’ while defending his players' right to escape ‘miserable’ England on their gruelling Ashes tour.
England is determined to keep making the most of being away from the “miserable” confines of home on this Ashes tour, with Ben Stokes declaring the team will not be taken for a ride by the Australian media.
Stokes may not have worn a helmet on his e-scooter but he’s fastened his flak-jacket to fearlessly absorb the fire coming his way after a week of intense scrutiny following the first Test loss in Perth.
England players including Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Stokes were followed around a Perth golf course by a drone, before reports surfaced of their plan to escape to Queensland paradise, Noosa after the Gabba Test.
Then photographers snapped Stokes and other England players riding around Brisbane on e-scooters without helmets, prompting a warning from local police that it’s against the law.
A defiant Stokes said his team won’t be forced indoors by the relentless microscope his team is being put under in Australia, emphasising the importance of players being allowed to “free your mind” and “enjoy yourself.”
“If they think it is going to stop us enjoying this country when we have time off then it is not going to do that,” Stokes told the BBC.
“Australia is the best country to tour away from cricket. There are so many things to do.
“You can go out and about and see things that only Australia has to offer, great golf courses, coffee shops and easy places to have lunch.
“We are human. We need to enjoy countries when we get the opportunity because we live in England where it is miserable, freezing cold and dark at 4pm.”
England has a strict no-whine policy under coach Brendon McCullum and positive mindset rules.
They have been unapologetic about their decision to skip a practice pink ball game under lights in Canberra, preferring to prepare for the Gabba Test at the Gabba nets instead.
Stokes and his teammates have been routinely parodied on the front pages of newspapers in Perth and Brisbane since they arrived and the spotlight is only intensifying as they fight to stay in the series.
England say they were prepared for the media onslaught.
“Before we got out here those conversations happened as a group,” Stokes said.
“It is not unexpected.
“We felt it when we got here. There were cameras in front of the hotel from 8am, following us on the golf course and even when we went out for some lunch.
“I’ve been at the very, very bad end of the media. I get it.
“No one is doing anything wrong with what’s been filmed or photographed. It’s making sure lads are getting that enjoyment element of touring such a great country like Australia.”
Fellow England player Ollie Pope said locking the hotel doors would be “unhealthy” and England were embracing the conditions – on and off the field.
Stokes said he didn’t feel the media scrutiny he was facing was crossing a line.
“A bit of both. My sponsors will be happy because I seem to be in the press every four days,” he said.
“It will probably continue throughout the rest of the tour. I don’t see anything wrong with going out and spending your time off on a golf course or having coffee or lunch, riding on a scooter.
“It’s fine. If they want to keep doing it, they are all polite and don’t intrude on our personal space. We have a job to do, they have a job to do.”
Originally published as England is ‘miserable and freezing cold’: Why fun police won’t stop Ben Stokes loving Australia
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