The Ashes: England don’t fear the ‘Gabbatoir’ as captain Ben Stokes urges players to have fun off the field
Captain Ben Stokes says England have no fear of the ‘Gabbatoir’ as he urged his players to keep having fun off the field in Australia despite the intense media scrutiny.
England have only won two Ashes Tests in Brisbane in their last 20 attempts, with their most recent outing at The Gabba a nine-wicket drubbing in 2021 at the start of a series they went on to lose 4-0.
Speaking ahead of the day-nighter in Queensland from Thursday, at which his side will be looking to level the five-match series after their two-day defeat in Perth, Stokes also told his squad not to stay cooped up inside as local media track their movements.
Stokes, wicketkeeper Jamie Smith and injured bowler Mark Wood were pictured riding e-scooters in Brisbane without the mandatory safety helmets.
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Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton dissect England’s XI for the second Ashes Test, with off-spinning all-rounder Will Jacks replacing fast bowler Mark Wood for the pink-ball game
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The all-rounder said of The Gabba: “Lots of our guys are on their first Ashes tour so this is going to be a new experience for them. No, it doesn’t hold too much fear.
“Every time you go out there your juices are always flowing, regardless of the venue you do play at.
“For Australia, I guess the Gabba is a little bit like Edgbaston or Headingley are for us, where you take a lot of confidence at home if you’ve got good records at those grounds.
“You also understand that Australia know this is a very good ground for them but we’re excited for that.
“Obviously, records for teams go back a long, long time. Many teams have gone to the Gabba and lost to Australia but this is a brand new outfit.”
Stokes’ side are 1-0 down in the five-Test Ashes series after their capitulation in Perth
‘We need to enjoy Australia – it’s the best country to tour’
On the heavy media presence following his team, Stokes added: “Australia is the best country to tour away from cricket.
“There are so many things to do. One of the important things on tour when you’re under pressure is to go out, free your mind and enjoy yourself.
“They are going to be there and film us, so the message to the group is please don’t make decisions based on the fact you might get caught on camera.
“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.
“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 [the media] 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.”
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Root said he was confident of rediscovering his touch as he questioned the need for a day-night Ashes Test
What will be key for England in day-night Test?
England have lost five of their seven day-night Tests, including all three in Australia, while the home side have 13 victories from 14 in the format, with the only blot a defeat to West Indies in Brisbane in January 2024.
Stokes said: “We have amazing resources with information, data, all that kind of stuff. I get our analyst to send me over all the info on the day-night cricket that’s been played at the Gabba and also in Australia recently.
“There’s daylight, dusk and also the period when the floodlights do come on, so you’re just trying to give yourself as much information as possible.
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England’s Ollie Pope discusses the challenges of the pink-ball Test
“Something we’ve spoken about is being conscious of keeping that ball as dry as possible, because as soon as that pink Kookaburra goes soft, it’s going to be a lot harder to feel like you can make a breakthrough with anything on the wicket.
“We’ve been all around the world where you get a softer ball and making breakthroughs seems a lot harder just because of that soft ball. All those tiny little things we’ve had to consider for this week.
“I think our liaison officers got tasked with going out and buying about 60 sweat bands for all of us.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
- First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
- Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
