England captain Ben Stokes has thrown a protective arm around his beleaguered side and pledged his support for under-fire opener Ben Duckett.
The tourists have already surrendered the urn after going 3-0 down and their build-up to the Boxing Day Test has been beset by reports of excessive drinking on their mid-series trip to Noosa.
Within hours of managing director Rob Key announcing he would be investigating the squad’s alcohol intake on the trip, unverified footage emerged on social media appearing to show an inebriated Duckett in a tense exchange with members of the public.
Speaking for the first time since the England and Wales Cricket Board issued a statement reiterating its “high expectations of behaviour”, Stokes said his priority as skipper was shielding his players from the growing glare of scrutiny.
There will be nowhere to hide at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a festive crowd of around 90,000 are expected to dish out plenty of partisan barracking, with Duckett’s precarious position hardly helped by a series batting average of just 16.
Stokes has endured difficult moments in his own career – including being thrown off an England Lions tour in 2013 for breaking team rules and being found not guilty on charges of affray following a 2017 incident outside a Bristol nightclub. He took a mental health break from the game in 2021 and later released a documentary which detailed his personal struggles.
“I am obviously aware of the reports and everything circulating around. My main concern right now is my players and how I handle this moment is the most important thing to me,” he said.
“I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people and my role as England captain is to protect my players as much as I possibly can. Supporting them and letting them know that I will be there for them through thick and thin is very, very important, and Ben Duckett knows that.
“I’ve obviously reached out, spoken to him and offered my complete support throughout this. Particularly in a moment like this where everything feels like it’s on top of you. My job as England captain is obviously to be out there and get results for the team, but also to try to give people the best chance of being in a mental space where they can go out there and perform.”
Detailing his conversation with Duckett, he said: “You know when you go up to someone and say, ‘I’m always here for you if you need five minutes’. I just reassured him that I’m not saying that for the sake of it. Just please come to me because I know what it’s like. It’s not a nice place to be.”
With no reserve openers on tour, Duckett was never likely to be stood down in Melbourne, but as expected Ollie Pope has finally run out of road at number three. Jacob Bethell gets the nod in what will be comfortably the biggest game of his career.
Pope has been under pressure for a year, averages 17 across 16 Ashes innings and lost the vice-captaincy just before travelling to Australia. He now faces a return to county cricket and a long road back after 64 Tests.
Gus Atkinson also returns to the England XI in place of Jofra Archer, with England’s most threatening pace bowler ruled out for the remainder of the tour with a worrying left side strain.
