‘When you hear we’re more bothered about golf…’: Ben Stokes slams ‘utter rubbish’ critics of England’s training methods
With a slump across formats and another poor run in the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship, England’s training methods came under the scanner during their ignominious limited-overs tour to India earlier this year before a group-stage Champions Trophy exit.England were criticised for not being serious, with several former cricketers slamming them for only playing golf between games during the 50-over matches against India.Test skipper Ben Stokes, who has not played a limited-overs game for close to two years, has said that England’s work ethic and training methods are misunderstood outside the team environment.Story continues below this ad“When you hear comments saying we don’t train hard enough, we’re more bothered about golf, we don’t work hard enough it’s just complete and utter [rubbish].”“You’re not going to be able to be an international sportsman for a long period of time if you don’t have a work ethic and everyone that walks into the Test team, the white-ball team, their work ethic is incredible,” Stokes told in a Sky Sports interaction.“They’re professional athletes, it’s their job.”"It's just complete and utter…" ‼️ England captain Ben Stokes defends his team-mates against criticism of their preparation 🗣️ Watch the full interview with Ben Stokes on Sky Sports Cricket and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel at 7pm 📺 pic.twitter.com/dpn0KB2dk8 — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) May 15, 2025“There’s reasons as to why we do things in the way that we do it and those reasons are for us to speak about together in the dressing room,” he said. “There is a reason to everything that we do.“What we try and do is take any extra added pressure off the shoulders of people. When you see us doing certain things that people might think why are we doing that, there’s a reason as to why we do it.”England will begin course for the fresh World Test Championship cycle with a Zimbabwe Test acting as pre-cursor. Stokes’ men will then face India and Australia across a demanding 10 Tests by the end of the season. The 33-year-old Stokes has vowed to return to full strength as an all-rounder after being out of action for nearly four months due to a hamstring injury.Story continues below this ad“In terms of my role as a player, that full seamer, batting at six, trying to dominate every situation I find myself whether I’ve got a bat or ball in my hand is what I want to get back doing out on the field, on the biggest stage. I know I’ve done it before, it’s something I’ve very confident in myself I can do,” Stokes added.
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