India, Dec. 25 -- England's tour of Australia for the Ashes this summer has been a truly miserable one. It is bad enough that the visitors are 3-0 down and already out of the running for the series three matches in, after only 11 matches of cricket. But this is a real nadir for the team following the extreme criticism following the players' visit of the beach town of Noosa, and the cited alcohol problems that came along with it.

Ben Stokes' team came under extreme pressure for the 4-day break in the build-up to the 3rd Test in Adelaide, with the preparations coming under question given the state of the performances. While the English media has hammered the team, they have still found some support from the Australian team themselves, who ...