Don't Miss

ENG

Cricket
Football
NDTV Podcast
Formula 1
Tennis
Golf
Badminton
- Kabaddi
- Boxing
- Athletics
- Chess
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Table tennis
- Othersports
- NFL
- NBA
- NHL
- US Streamers
- MMA
- WWE

Dark / Light mode

Oct 9,2026 01:05 AM IST

"Ben Stokes And England Team-mates Sink Beers And Sunbathe": Mid-Ashes Break After Losing Two Tests Send Media Into Meltdown

facebook

twitter

Settings

Change Font Size

A A
Change Language

हिंदी | Hindi
Focus on Story

Select Language

Languages
हिंदी | Hindi

Dark / Light mode

Featured Links
Featured Sports
- Cricket
- Football
- Formula 1
- Tennis
- Hockey
- Golf
- Badminton
More Sports
- Kabaddi
- Boxing
- Athletics
- Chess
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Table tennis
- Othersports
More from NDTV
- NDTV
- Business
- Hindi
- Movies
- Cricket
- Health
- Food
- Tech
- Auto
- Apps
- Trains

Ashes 2025-26 21 Nov 25 to 08 Jan 26

Scoreboard
News
Photos
Videos
Fixtures
teams
players
Venues
Results
More
- Stats

arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow

Live Cricket Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

India Matches

Ashes 2025-26

Football Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

ISL

IPL 2026

All Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

India Matches

EPL

5th Test, The Ashes, 2025/26 at Sydney, Jan 4, 2026

Australia

567 & 161/5 (31.2)

England

384 & 342

Australia beat England by 5 wickets
4th Test, The Ashes, 2025/26 at Melbourne, Dec 26, 2025

Australia

152 & 132

England

110 & 178/6 (32.2)

England beat Australia by 4 wickets
3rd Test, The Ashes, 2025/26 at Adelaide, Dec 17, 2025

Australia

371 & 349

England

286 & 352 (102.5)

Australia beat England by 82 runs

Sports Home Australia vs England Ashes 202526 News Ben Stokes And England Teammates Sink Beers And Sunbathe MidAshes Break After Losing Two Tests Send Media Into Meltdown

Story ProgressBack to home

"Ben Stokes And England Team-mates Sink Beers And Sunbathe": Mid-Ashes Break After Losing Two Tests Send Media Into Meltdown

After the second Ashes Test, England are currently on a break at a beach retreat in Noosa. According to media reports, the break was pre-planned in collaboration with Cricket Australia.

NDTV Sports Desk
Updated: December 10, 2025 11:48 pm IST

Read Time: 3 min

facebook

twitter

E-mail

Ben Stokes with radio presenters Archie and Bretz.© X/Twitter

Show

Quick Read

Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed

England trail Australia 2-0 in the 2025-26 Ashes series after two Tests
England are on a pre-planned mid-series break in Noosa during the Ashes
English media criticised England's break after heavy Ashes defeats

Did our AI summary help?

Let us know.

Switch To Beeps Mode

England's attacking 'Bazball' approach has fallen flat in the 2025-26 Ashes so far. The hosts currently lead the five-match series 2-0, with the third Test between England and Australia set to be played in Adelaide, starting December 17. England suffered a helpless, two-day loss at Perth, courtesy of Travis Head's form in the first Test. In the second Test, except for centurion Joe Root, Zak Crawley and skipper Ben Stokes managed to bat for any significant length of time.

After the second Ashes Test, England are currently on a break at a beach retreat in Noosa. According to media reports, the break was pre-planned in collaboration with Cricket Australia.

However, the English media has not taken the break lightly. "Ben Stokes and England team-mates sink beers and sunbathe after Ashes humiliation," The Telegraph wrote in its report. "Embattled players enjoy downtime at tourist hotspot Noosa just days after going 2-0 down in the series," it added.

Ben Stokes and England team-mates sink beers and sunbathe after Ashes humiliation

Find out more https://t.co/SxGGdVaV0H pic.twitter.com/2zWdoAHznd

— Telegraph Cricket (@TeleCricket) December 10, 2025

The headline of the report in BBC read: "Sledged on the beach - England's break in Noosa."

"As the squad assembled on the beach on Wednesday morning, the players were approached by two local radio hosts - dressed in full whites - holding signs that read 'For sale - moral victories' and 'Bazballers anonymous - free counselling,'" the BBC report added.

Australian wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey feels England's mid-Ashes break in Noosa will do them some good, but warns Australia against getting too comfortable with their 2-0 lead. Carey believes memories of the 2023 series, where Australia blew a 2-0 lead in England, will keep his team focused. England arrived in Noosa, the affluent resort town on the Queensland coast, on Tuesday for a four-night mini-break, and will train three times in Adelaide ahead of the third Ashes Test, according to ESPNcricinfo.

"I think it'd be a nice holiday. It's a pretty big series, with lots of time between games. For the Australian cricket team, we get to go home for a few days and be with families, so touring parties have got to find time to fill in those little windows," Carey said, as per ESPNcricinfo.

"We know England are a very good team. We also understand we were in a position like this a couple of years ago in England. We weren't able to win that series, but we were good enough to retain the Ashes. We're really excited for the opportunity we've got, but we understand we've got to keep playing good cricket," Carey added.

Carey believes it's up to England to decide how to handle the mid-tour break, but feels taking time off can help them refresh and recharge. He noted the Ashes is "very hotly contested" and players shouldn't be thinking about cricket every day.

"I'm not sure you need to do it [but] it's totally up to the touring groups to find ways to take your mind off cricket for a little bit. The Ashes is very hotly contested. You don't want to be thinking about cricket every single day of the tour. If you do have a little break, it's probably not a bad time to refresh the batteries," Carey concluded.