The host nation’s newspapers could barely contain their delight after Ben Stokes and his team were spotted relaxing before the crucial third Test
A mid-tour jaunt by the England cricket team to a Queensland beach town was covered gleefully by Australia’s tabloid newspapers, which splashed a shirtless Ben Stokes across their pages amid taunting headlines.
“On back foot, England bails to the beach”, one read. “Life’s a beach, even for the sinking Poms,” added another. “Sun’s out, runs out”, offered a third, alongside a photo of Stokes’s tattooed biceps.
“Having a Bazball at Noosa!”, the top of the front page of Brisbane’s Courier Mail declared, alongside coverage of Jamie Oliver’s best Christmas ham recipe and Australia’s controversial ban of under-16s from social media which comes into force on Wednesday.
A double page spread inside the news section noted the “wounded” English team couldn’t altogether avoid cricket on their getaway, as Stokes was pictured striding behind a young beachgoer with bat in hand.
