Captain Ben Stokes said England were not afraid of “gabattoirs” and called on players to keep having fun off the field in Australia despite intense media scrutiny.
England have won just two Ashes Tests in Brisbane in their last 20 attempts, and their most recent match at The Gabba in 2021 saw them start the series with a disastrous nine-wicket defeat, losing 4-0.
Ahead of Thursday’s day-night match in Queensland, where the team will be looking to equalize in five games after two days of defeat in Perth, Stokes also told his team not to stay indoors as local media will be tracking their movements.
Stokes, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and injured bowler Mark Wood were photographed riding electric scooters in Brisbane without wearing mandatory safety helmets.
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Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton dissect England’s XI in 2nd Ashes Test, off-spinning all-rounder Will Jacks replaces fast bowler Mark Wood in pink-ball match
The all-rounder said of The Gabba: “Many of our members will be on the Ashes tour for the first time, so this will be a new experience for them. No, we don’t have much to fear.
“No matter where you play, every time you go out, the juices come flowing.
“I think for Australia the Gabba is a bit like Edgbaston or Headingley for us, if you have a good record there you can have a lot of confidence at home.
“You also understand that Australia knows this is a very good ground for them, but we are looking forward to it.
“Obviously, the team’s record goes back a long way. A lot of teams have gone to the Gabba and lost to Australia, but this is a brand new team.”
Stokes’ side lost the five-Test Ashes series 1-0 after surrendering in Perth.
“You have to enjoy Australia. It’s a great country to tour.”
“Australia is a great country to tour outside of cricket,” Stokes said of the extensive media appearances following his team.
“There’s a lot to do. One of the important things on tour when you’re under pressure is to go out and let your mind go and have fun.
“They’re going to be there and film us. So the message to this group is, don’t make decisions based on the fact that you might be seen on camera.
“We are human beings and we need to enjoy other countries when we have the chance, because the UK we live in is miserable, freezing cold and dark at 4pm.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with riding a scooter, going out to the golf course, having a coffee or lunch, or having a day off.
“If they (the media) want to continue doing that, that’s fine. They’re all civil and they don’t invade our personal space. We have a job to do and they have a job to do.”
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Root said he was confident he could rediscover his touch, although he doubted the need for day and night ash testing.
What will be key for England in the day-night Test?
England have lost five of their seven day-night Tests, including all three in Australia, but the home side have won 13 of 14 in this format, with their only defeat coming against West Indies in Brisbane in January 2024.
Stokes said: “We have a great resource with information, data and everything like that. I’ve had our analysts send us all the information about recent day-night cricket at the Gabba and in Australia.”
“We try to get as much information as possible as there are times of the day, dusk and when the floodlights are on.
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England’s Ollie Pope talks about the challenges of the pink-ball Test
“What we talked about is being conscious of keeping the ball as dry as possible, because as soon as the pink kingfisher gets soft, it becomes much harder to feel like you can break through with whatever is on the wicket.
“We’ve been around the world where we can get softer balls, but it seems like it’s a lot harder to break through because of that softer ball. This week we had to take all those little little things into account.”
“I think our liaison officer was tasked with going out and buying about 60 sweatbands for all of us.”
Ashes Series in Australia 2025-26
always UK and Ireland
1st test (Perth – 21st to 25th November): Australia defeats England by 8 wickets 2nd Test (day/night): Thursday 4th December to Monday 8th December (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane 3rd Test : Wednesday 17 December – Sunday 21 December (11:30pm) – Adelaide Oval Fourth Test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11:30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground 5th Test: Sunday 4 January to Thursday 8 January (11:30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
