Stokes calls for ‘empathy’ for England players and pledges support for Duckett
Ben Stokes has called for the public and the media to show “empathy” towards his embattled England players,It comes as their Ashes campaign threatens to fully unravel in response to a guaranteed series defeat and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-tour break in Noosa,Sitting 3-0 down going into the Boxing Day Test, England have been hit by reports that their downtime in between the defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide was akin to a “stag do”,The emergence of footage appearing to show Ben Duckett drunk and slurring his words on a night out has heightened things,The video, taken by an English traveller called “Sam” and posted on social media, has not cost Duckett his place albeit England have made changes to their XI for the fourth Test.
Jofra Archer’s tour is over with a side strain, Ollie Pope has been dropped, with Jacob Bethell and Gus Atkinson coming in.Whether these tweaks can change the direction of this failed tour remains to be seen.Stokes declined to comment on the specifics in Noosa – an internal review is being undertaken – but admitted he faces a battle to lift a side that is dealing with a wave of criticism.“My main concern right now is my players,” said Stokes.“The welfare of everyone in there, and some certain individuals as well, is the most important thing to me right now – to get them into the best possible state to try and perform for their country and for the remainder of this trip.
”Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue,Visibly emotional in his pre-match press conference, Stokes gave a rare nod to his own experiences in the spotlight, most likely the Bristol street fight in 2017 that eventually saw him cleared of affray in court,The 34-year-old also took time out of the game in 2021 after suffering panic attacks triggered by the fallout from that episode and the death of his father,Stokes: “This kind of stuff is very … I don’t know if close to me is the right wording, but I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people,“It’s never a nice place to be in when not only the media world, but also the social media world, is just piling on top of you.
You don’t really have a leg to stand on when you have lost three games in a huge series like this,When you’re winning, everything’s great,When you’re losing, it’s not,“Just in this moment right now, I think a little bit of empathy from everyone would be not too hard to think about, if that makes sense,”On Duckett, averaging 16 in this series and part of a faltering top three that is at least refreshed by Bethell’s inclusion, Stokes said: “He’s an incredibly influential person within this group.
But he knows that he’s got the support of myself and the other guys around him as well.“I’ve had some pretty good times over my career.I’ve also had some pretty tough times.This is probably the toughest time right now as an England captain that I’ll have.I ain’t going to run away from it.
”While there is broader discussion to be had over alcohol consumption and its compatibility with international sport, England’s four-night break on the Sunshine Coast sits low on the list of reasons as to why they are 3-0 down.Nevertheless, the episode does feel emblematic of a campaign that began with optimism but has since malfunctioned through a combination of poor preparation off the field and poor decision-making on it.Archer’s injury simply represents another blow.Picked up by scan on Tuesday and set to cause him to fly home next week, it now has him facing a race to be fit for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka which starts in February.
The Guide #222: From Celebrity Traitors to The Brutalist via Bad Bunny – our roundup of the culture that mattered in 2025
It’s time to look back on a year of Traitors and Sinners, of Bad Bunnies and Such Brave Girls, with the Guide’s now annual roundup of the year’s best culture. As ever, the Guardian is already knee-deep in lists – of films (UK and US), albums (across rock and pop, and classical), TV shows, books and games, and theatre, comedy and dance. Some of those have already counted down to No 1, others will reach their respective summits in the coming days, so keep an eye on the homepage.Our list meanwhile is entirely, unapologetically partial, and definitely not as comprehensive as The Guardian’s many top 50s: there are numerous albums we never got around to hearing, and TV shows we’re still only halfway through. (Pluribus, Dope Thief and Blue Lights, I will return to you, I promise!) But hopefully it should give a flavour of a year that, despite so many headwinds, was a pretty strong one for culture
From Avatar to Amadeus: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Avatar: Fire and AshOut now James Cameron comes down with a case of the Christmas blues, so to speak, as the director’s record-breaking franchise epic returns once more to planet Pandora for more internecine strife and respecting of the splendour of the natural world, rendered in dazzling motion-capture glory.Silent Night, Deadly NightOut now Actor Rohan Campbell graduates from Michael Myers wannabe in the fairly dire Halloween Ends, to main bogeyman Billy Chapman in the latest instalment of the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise (second remake, seventh film overall, fact fans). Per franchise lore, he witnessed his parents’ murder-by-Santa aged five, and the rest is grisly history.Fackham HallOut now Jimmy Carr turns his hand to screenwriting with this parody of Downton Abbey-type films. Given the actual Downton Abbey films already play as a parody of Downtown Abbey-type films, there may not be much to add, but a cast including Thomasin McKenzie, Katherine Waterston, Damian Lewis and Anna Maxwell Martin are here to give it their best shot
Jimmy Kimmel on a tumultuous year: ‘Don’t know what the American way even is any more’
Late-night hosts reflected on a rollercoaster 2025 and Donald Trump’s combative, primetime year-end address to the nation.Jimmy Kimmel opened his final monologue of 2025 with an emotional reflection on a tumultuous year. “This has been a strange year. It’s been a hard year,” he said. “We’ve had some lows
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump’s speech: ‘Surprise primetime episode of The Worst Wing’
Late-night hosts discussed – or ignored – Donald Trump’s surprise primetime address and dug further into the explosive new interview the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles.Jimmy Kimmel opened his Wednesday night show with an acknowledgment of the president’s 9pm ET national address, also known as a “surprise primetime episode of The Worst Wing tonight on every channel”.Trump announced only on Tuesday that he would deliver an impromptu fireside chat during the season finales of Survivor and The Floor. “It’s weird to think that had a couple of states just gone the other way, he’d be hosting one of those shows,” Kimmel joked. “Trump shouldn’t be pre-empting The Floor
Stephen Colbert on Susie Wiles’s candid interviews: ‘She dished, bish’
Late-night hosts reacted to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’s revealing interview with Vanity Fair.“If there’s one thing Donald Trump wants, it’s a hamburger,” said Stephen Colbert on Tuesday’s Late Show. “If there’s a second thing, though, it would be to make you think that you’re crazy. That’s why periodically, I like to remind all of you that you’re not crazy. What’s happening is crazy
The 50 best albums of 2025: No 3 – Blood Orange: Essex Honey
Dev Hynes’ deeply personal response to his mother’s death embodied the many unexpected shades of grief in pastoral hymnals and post-punk The 50 best albums of 2025 More on the best culture of 2025There’s a lot of grief across the best albums of this year. It’s unsurprising: 2025 has felt like a definitive and dismal break with government accountability, protections for marginalised people and holding back the encroachment of AI in creative and intellectual fields, to cherrypick just a few horrors. Anna von Hausswolff and Rosalía reached for transcendence from these earthly disappointments. Bad Bunny and KeiyaA countered colonial abuse and neglect with writhing resistance anthems. On a more personal scale, Lily Allen and Cate Le Bon grappled with disillusionment about mis-sold romantic ideals
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