Stuart Broad responds to off-field scrutiny

Later, former England batsman Stuart Broad addressed the matter, saying that the behaviour of the entire team was not reflected in the blunders made by a few individuals that became popular subjects.

After playing poorly in the first three Test matches at Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide, England lost the series in just 11 cricket days. Following the team’s mid-series beach break in Noosa, where players were seen drinking, the team’s lack of preparation and aggressive cricket were severely criticised.

A video of opener Ben Duckett appearing drunk and slurring his English while being asked by a small group how to return to his accommodation during the series went viral on social media. Online, the video generated a lot of debate and criticism.

“Just a few of their guys have blundered, and the media has covered it. It’s up to your teammates to help you get out of those circumstances, and that’s when your culture is very strong, in my opinion. Despite not knowing the location of his accommodation, Ben Duckett is not left alone. On the For the Love of Cricket Podcast, Stuart Broad stated, “Harry Brook doesn’t put himself in a situation with a bouncer because they’re not allowed anywhere near that situation.”

Therefore, I believe that’s what will let [head coach] Brendon McCullum down. A 12 o’clock curfew really bothered me since I didn’t think it was necessary. Your time is up as long as you have teammates around to help you go home at a reasonable hour,” Stuart Broad continued.

Additionally, Stuart Broad underlined that there is no drinking culture on the England team. It would be unjust to categorise the entire team as party animals based on the behaviour of a select handful, he said, adding that players like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Zak Crawley have not been drinking recently.

“I see that the England team doesn’t drink. I’ve read a lot about drinking culture, and when we left Australia in 2021–2022, we acquired that. Surely Crawley, Pope, and more recently Stokes and Root aren’t heavy drinkers? They don’t go out and tear it to pieces and act like party animals. No drinking culture exists. If I’m being honest, knowing the boys as well as I do, I’ll hang my hat on it.

However, it’s just about ensuring that the boys don’t get into problems when things happen,” Stuart Broad explained.

Before multi-format players immediately entered the Ashes, which took place from November 23 to January 7, England started their white-ball tour of New Zealand in October. In preparation for the T20 World Cup, which starts on February 8, England is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka starting on January 22 and play both One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals.

“You need a release of some kind as an international player. It drives you crazy if you don’t do anything if you don’t have the mental turn off. I know you [fellow podcast presenter Jos Buttler] claim that football players don’t, but cricket players spend six months of the year in hotels,” Stuart Broad added.

“Australia has won the Ashes, Travis Head is having a great time, living the good life, conducting interviews about the wines, and more. You don’t actually get to twelve o’clock very often, but if you win, you should probably go unwind and have fun,” Stuart Broad continued.