Ashes 2025-26: 'Probably not a bad time to refresh the batteries' - Alex Carey defends England's Noosa beach outing amid media backlash

Australian wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey has come out in support of England's decision to take some time off and spend a day at Noosa beach amid a hotly-contested Ashes series. The tourists lost both the first and second Test by eight wickets by eight wickets to concede a 2-0 lead to Australia. 

Speaking at the Woolworths Cricket Blast event in Adelaide, Carey felt a drawn-out series like the Ashes could get a burdensome and cooling down for a few days is sometimes the best thing a team can do. He also commented that England will aim to "refresh the batteries" through the outing. 

"I think it'd be a nice holiday. It's a pretty big series, with lots of time between games. For the Australian cricket team, we get to go home for a few days and be with families, so touring parties have got to find time to fill in those little windows. I'm not sure you need to do it [but] it's totally up to the touring groups to find ways to take your mind off cricket for a little bit. The Ashes is very hotly contested. You don't want to be thinking of cricket every single day of the tour. If you do have a little break, it's probably not a bad time to refresh the batteries," stated Carey, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

The English media in particular have been critical of Ben Stokes & Co. for heading to the resort town of Noosa. The captain and his players were spotted enjoying a bit of football with the locals on the beach while casually walking around in a bid to explore the surroundings.

A lot of former English cricketers have slammed England for not being prepared enough for the series and taking the assignment lightly after they lost the first two matches in Perth and Brisbane. The third Test of the five-match series is scheduled to get underway on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.