Nine’s Wide World of Sports
Australian captain Steve Smith has sympathised with his Ashes rivals as a disastrous tour continues to go from bad to worse for England.
The visitors went down 3-0 in the series after the third Test, which will again see the Aussies retain the urn and push for a potential whitewash in Melbourne and Sydney.
England's performances on the field have led to plenty of criticism, but it is what has occurred off the field in recent weeks that has them under even more pressure.
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Their trip to Noosa in between the second match in Brisbane and series-clinching third game in Adelaide has backfired in the eyes of the public, with the ECB launching an investigation into the conduct of players after reports of excessive drinking.
Ben Stokes staunchly defended his players during his press conference before the Boxing Day Test and speaking to media on Christmas morning, the Aussie skipper was quizzed about the negativity surrounding England in recent weeks.
Ben Stokes leads England players off the field Getty
His response wasn't what many would expect in the middle of an Ashes campaign.
"When you're losing, the spotlight is always on you and things can get spoken about and get blown up pretty heavily," Smith told reporters on Thursday.
"I feel for them, in a way. It can be tricky.
"You're in a country where you know you can go out and about and enjoy yourselves, and with big breaks, you know, you've got to experience the country that you're in as well – and they had a pretty big break in between.
"Sometimes I think you've just got to – and I heard a few of the comments – but you have got to get away from the game and try and put it out of your mind.
"I can see that's the kind of path that they wanted to go down. I think it's fair enough.
"I can't really comment more than that on how they're feeling or how they're going about things but, yeah, I certainly believe that when you've lost two Test matches, and you've got such a long break, sometimes you just need to get away from the game."
Things won't get any easier for the tourists when they step foot onto the hallowed turf of the MCG on Friday morning either, with star quick Jofra Archer ruled out with injury.
Jofra Archer Getty
Smith admitted it was a "shame" for the Barbados-born seamer to miss out while also referencing his brief altercation with Archer during the pink-ball Test at the Gabba.
"He bowled really well last week, he came out and bowled with good pace and I might have had something to do with that in Brisbane perhaps, that back-end," Smith said.
"You never want to see good players missing games, but injuries happen.
"It's a shame he's not gonna be around for the next couple of games, but I still think they've got some quality seamers in their lineup who can do damage."
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'Feel for them': Smith's surprise reaction to England dramas – Nine
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