Ashes Aftermath: England’s Booze Culture Under Fire Again

The latest Ashes tour has left England fans with a grim sense of déjà vu. The defeats to Australia were predictable; what stings far more is the familiar cloud over dressing-room culture, late nights and the leadership environment around Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Boozeball, Brook and the Ashes hangover

On the field, the gulf was obvious – Australia have now won the vast majority of home Ashes Tests this century, turning their own grounds into psychological fortresses. Off the field, though, English cricket is again wrestling with its image, with questions about whether the looseness that fuels Bazball has bled into something more troubling – "Boozeball".

Incidents from past tours still rankle in the collective memory: the infamous late-night bar episodes, the mocking headlines, the feeling that England’s defeats are being accompanied by self-inflicted wounds. Now, with Harry Brook elevated into the leadership group alongside Stokes and McCullum, the scrutiny is sharper than ever. Supporters are left wondering whether the team has truly learned from the Bairstow and Duckett sagas of previous trips, or simply wrapped the same old habits in a new, attacking brand of cricket.

For Indian fans watching from afar, the contrast is striking. While Team India have spent the last decade tightening standards and building a fiercely professional culture to win overseas, England seem trapped in a cycle where every Ashes ends not just in defeat, but in another uncomfortable inquest into what happens after stumps.