Ex-England great Botham calls Stokes 'bloody good cricketer' who 'let himself down in final months'

Former England great Ian Botham has decided not to back down from his criticism of now-retired skipper Ben Stokes for his conduct on the Ashes tour Down Under. England lost the five-Test series 4-1 and was criticised by former cricketers for their mid-series drinking break in Noosa. Stokes, at the time, had called Botham and Michael Vaughan "has-beens", but Botham has stood by his words. The former all-rounder, however, did praise Stokes for being a "bloody good cricketer." Stokes announced his retirement during the home Test series against New Zealand in June 2026.

Botham Not Budging From Calling Out Stokes

“He’s a bloody good cricketer and he played well, but he let himself down in those final couple of months,” said Botham, as quoted by Sky Sports. The former all-rounder also called out England's performance during the Ashes tour, especially the break in Noosa.

“For the team to go 2-0 down in Australia - one of them in two days - and for me to then see them at Noosa, one of the most popular places in Australia to holiday, having five days off on the lash, I just thought that was poor. Curfews, well, they were set and they were broken."

Also Read - Shastri backs Shami comeback; warns Bumrah on format workload ahead of World Cup

On the starting point of the war of words, Botham said: “You have got a situation, starting from the beginning when he had a go at myself and Michael Vaughan in Melbourne because we said they had not prepared properly. They played two and a half days of cricket in the build-up to taking on Australia in Perth."

What Happened After the Ashes?

England's Test coach Brendon McCullum has been let go, with Stephen Fleming - the former NZ skipper, like McCullum - taking over the role. After Stokes decided to retire from Tests - the only format he played - Harry Brook was named the new England Test skipper. England is currently in Pakistan for an ODI tri-series involving Sri Lanka alongside the hosts.