Ben Stokes News

SIR JAMES ANDERSON: The first thing I would insist upon is players going back into county cricket to prove they are good enough to face New Zealand at Lord's in June.

Let's face it, cricket and alcohol have history. In fact, they are intrinsically linked, dating back to Victorian times when village green contests were followed by post-match pints in the local.

There was a time, on a very flat track in Rawalpindi not so many winters back, when Harry Brook telegraphed the very distinct sense that he would become a tornado in Test cricket.

After Ben Stokes fumed at Snicko's lack of 'consistency' on Thursday evening, it appears another controversial umpiring decision has emerged.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: This was not England's worst Ashes tour among their many failures in Australia down the years. But it was arguably their most disappointing.

He only scored six in his final innings and didn't get to hit the winning runs at his beloved SCG - but said he'll cherish the last day of the fifth Test forever.

Daily Mail Sport's LAWRENCE BOOTH was at all five Tests as England succumbed to another battering Down Under - here are his Ashes series player ratings.

Until the bitter end, we have been confronted with the cool indifference of Brendon McCullum, a man more absorbed with his own image than the catastrophe he has visited upon English cricket.

Tomorrow, thank God, the Ashes will come to an end, bringing the curtain down on a series of unforgivable crimes against cricket.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: Cause for celebration, then, at the end of a long, humiliating tour, but also cause for regret. This ought to have been Bethell's 14th Test, not his sixth.

ASHES BREAKFAST: Jacob Bethell danced down the track to an off-break from Beau Webster and launched it over midwicket for the boundary to his parents' delight.

TNT Sports' Ashes coverage reached a new low after commentators mistakenly reacted live to a replay of a run-out during the fifth Test between Australia and England in Sydney.

As the ball hung in the air, you almost knew what was coming. Travis Head had been the key wicket all series, and England desperately needed to see the back of him. So Will Jacks dropped it.

Australian expert Sarah Rodrigues offers a guide exploring Australia's biggest city, with activities including kayaking across Sydney Harbour, climbing Harbour Bridge and some of the best spots to eat.

It takes a lot for a painting-by-numbers 46 to overshadow a masterpiece 160, but Jamie Smith gave it a go on a wildly oscillating second day at the SCG

A furious Ben Stokes erupted at Marnus Labuschagne and appeared to tell the Aussie batsman to 'shut the f*** up', as tempers flared on day two of the fifth Ashes Test. 

Ben Stokes has urged England not to 'coast' in Sunday's fifth and final Ashes Test at Sydneyas they try to limit the damage in a game that could have repercussions

As ECB bosses rake over these Ashes the make-up of the dressing-room will figure high on the agenda

Ahead of the final Test in Sydney and before a review of what went wrong takes shape, these are the players that can help win back the urn in 18 months' time.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: McCullum, who became England's all-format coach a year ago, has an expensive ECB contract running until the end of 2027.

EXCLUSIVE BY LAWRENCE BOOTH: The ECB went into damage-limitation mode after a video emerged of Ben Duckett slurring his words in a late-night interaction with a fan.

This is my sixth Ashes tour, and the previous five had encouraged a hypothesis: even if Australians aren't always gracious winners, they can be magnanimous in defeat.

Ben Duckett dished up a cheeky response to jeers from fans inside the MCG during the Boxing Day Test.

Australian cricket is being accused of 'hypocrisy' in the wake of the Boxing Day Test pitch fiasco.

The end of the Boxing Day match at the MCG on Saturday was the first time the same series has had multiple two-day Tests in 129 years.

Nasser Hussain has claimed that Australian spin king Shane Warne would have described the MCG's pitch as 'unacceptable'.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MELBOURNE: England arrived at the MCG with the mockery of a nation ringing in their ears, and left celebrating a first victory on Australian soil since January 2011.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: England have won their first Test match in Australia since January 2011, avoiding the prospect of a whitewash with a tense four-wicket win on the second day in Melbourne.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MELBOURNE: England have pulled off their first victory in Australia in 19 attempts dating back to January 2011 after they knocked off a target of 175 inside 33 overs.

England's cricketers began their Christmas Day yesterday at the MCG practising for the penultimate match of an increasingly sobering tour of Australia.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Ben Duckett's first innings since his Noosa outing made the headlines was over in a flash as England struggled in reply to Australia's 152 all out on a dramatic opening day.

England's cricket stars appeared to be in good spirits as they were put through their paces on Christmas Day ahead of the Boxing Day Ashes Test.

DAILYMAIL+ BEST OF 2025: There are 18 first-class county headquarters in Britain, and Daily Mail Sport's Lawrence Booth has been to them all - many times over. Here, he ranks them.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MELBOURNE: Ben Stokes has pleaded for 'empathy' after Ben Duckett was named in England's team for the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.

When members of the legendary 2005 Ashes squad got together this summer to reminisce 20 years on, Collingwood was conspicuous by his absence.

COUNTY CRICKET TRANSFERS: Bashir, released by Somerset on November 1 and now snubbed by England Down Under, has agreed a move after months of seeking a new county home.

On a triumphant Ashes tour, a beery four-day break at a holiday resort becomes an example of camaraderie, another of the one-percenters (or four-and-a-halfs) that add up to sporting glory.

Comparing England's cricketers socialising between matches to a stag do is completely over the top and, as someone who has lost Test series in Australia myself, I have sympathy for them.

Yes, you read it right: in the immediate aftermath of losing the Ashes in 11 days, McCullum had the brass neck to say that he wants to still be England coach as 'it's a pretty good gig and good fun'.

As if the Three Lions' series defeat in Adelaide wasn't bad enough, yet another eye-opening claim about their preparation for the series has now surfaced.

Ben Stokes has opened up on the 'hurt' he and his team-mates are suffering after losing the Ashes emphatically to Australia inside 11 days.

Sixes Cricket, which operates 17 branches and is also supported by former England international Stuart Broad, has appointed administrators amid falling consumer spending.

Head has become a symbol of England's failure and Australia's spirit. He plunged England into misery in Perth and now he wants to finish the job before we even get to Melbourne and Sydney.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN ADELAIDE: On the day England needed a miracle, they got the off-spin of Will Jacks and Joe Root. Australian minds will know that the tourists are not serious about winning.

Ashes RECAP: Re-live all of the action from day three of the third Test at Adelaide Oval with Daily Mail's live coverage with the urn on the line in South Australia.

Tempers flared between England skipper Ben Stokes and his star bowler Jofra Archer on Thursday morning.

None of England's previous Ashes tours began with the optimism surrounding this one. But after eight days' cricket, that optimism, and that Bazball template, has been destroyed.

After the England wicket-keeper, then on just 16, had initially been given out, the umpires sent the decision upstairs to check whether the ball had carried to Khawaja - which it did.

The Ashes are almost gone for another two years. Thursday in Adelaide felt like witnessing a lot more than the turning point in a match. It felt like watching the end of an idea.

Among the many brickbats hurled England's way has been the absence of an attack leader. But on the first day of the third Test, that role fell on the shoulders of Jofra Archer. And he responded in style.

It's embarrassing that a series of this magnitude, with careers on the line, should tolerate even the possibility of inaccuracy, when the UltraEdge used in England is far more precise.

Alex Carey has become a quite exceptional player. If it weren't for Mitchell Starc, he could be the player of the series. For all that, he discovered what it felt like to be a villain to the English again.

An emotional Alex Carey paid a heartfelt tribute to his late father as he secured his first-ever Ashes Test century. 

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN ADELAIDE: Steve Smith has been ruled out of the crucial third Test at Adelaide after feeling unwell during the build-up to the game.

England's disregard for the evidence of the past has empowered multiple record-breaking Test wins under Brendon McCullum. But now might just be the right time to look to the history books.

Chris Woakes has risen to the defence of England by insisting that Bazball 'is not the problem' after Ben Stokes' side slumped to go 2-0 down in the Ashes series.

Shoaib Bashir's Test career is far from over - but it is certainly on hold. England's No 1 spinner has been cast adrift in the very series for which he was groomed. It is every bit as bad as it looks.

Aussie star Jake Weatherald has lifted the lid on what Steve Smith's mysterious hand signal to Jofra Archer meant after the pair clashed in a heated sledging match.

England are painfully aware of Mitchell Starc's ability to strike early and they will be desperate to avoid a repeat this week. They need to keep him out but it won't be easy.

The vocabulary of the alpha male prevails as England look to stop the Ashes pain. Ben Stokes is looking for 'dog' in his players. No discussion of such nuanced qualities as intelligence and attrition.

England must win the third Test in Adelaide, starting later tonight, to stay in the Ashes, and Stokes has emphasised to team-mates that there can be no excuses for feeling cowed by the experience.

Skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have come in for heavy criticism as the Three Lions gave up a 2-0 lead to Australia.

These are the hot-take Ashes, with podcasts sprouting like heads on the Hydra. But on one question most pundits can agree: how do you solve a problem like Harry Brook?

When Joe Root, wide-eyed and 19, touched down at Adelaide airport one October evening in 2010, he was not quite the slip of a lad you might remember now.

Former England starl Steve Harmison has grave fears for the welfare of Ben Stokes after the battering the team has copped in the opening two Ashes tests in Australia

A pair of local Aussie radio presenters have trolled Ben Stokes and England during the Bazballers' sunny Noosa getaway, following their dismal start to the 2025 Ashes series.

It won't be much consolation to Ben Stokes or the England team that lost the second Test at the Gabba, but when it comes to tours going wrong in Australia, I have been in worse situations than this.

It pains Matt Prior to say it, but say it he does. England's former wicketkeeper is ticking about the performance that left Ben Stokes's side two down in the Ashes with three to play.

Ben Stokes and his England team-mates have been enjoying a beachy getaway to the popular tourist hotspot of Noosa.

The one-eyed Three Lions fan attracted thousands of comments with his prediction for the rest of the series.

Six days of action, and it's almost all over already. England's Ashes hopes are hanging by a thread after a dreadful first two Tests left them needing to win all three matches to win back the urn.

The fuse has been lit for the remainder of The Ashes following two heated exchanges at the death during the second Test in Brisbane.

England's sore and sorry Ashes squad have been gifted a vacation straight out of a tourism brochure.

Skipper Ben Stokes and his team crashed to their second humiliating defeat in a row as Australia won by eight wickets on Sunday night.

Geoffrey Boycott did not hold back in his assessment of England's dire eight-wicket defeat by Australia at The Gabba, with the England great branding the Brisbane Test a 'horror show'.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: If England didn't know the scale of their task before they arrived, they know it now. Two-nil down with three to play is not a situation they have remedied ever.

Steve Smith delivered a savage eight-word sledge to Jofra Archer as tempers flared during Australia's eight-wicket victory against England in Brisbane.

England are staring at another Ashes series defeat in Australia after slumping to a huge eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane. Here Daily Mail Sport's LAWRENCE BOOTH rates the players.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN BRISBANE: Ben Stokes and Will Jacks put up a fight, but the Australian victory that felt inevitable when play resumed was finally sealed at 7.29pm local time