The Ashes 2025: Stuart Broad says England don’t have a drinking problem

England began their white-ball tour of New Zealand on October 18, with the all-rounders heading straight to the Ashes series that ran from November 23 to January 7.

England will tour Sri Lanka from January 22, playing one-day internationals and T20 matches, leading up to a T20 World Cup campaign that begins on February 8 and could last a month.

“As an international player, you need a kind of liberation,” Broad said.

“If you don’t have that mental switch – I know you [fellow podcast host Jos Buttler] They say footballers don’t do that – but cricketers spend six months in hotels and it drives you crazy if you don’t do anything.

“We saw Australia win the Ashes and Travis Head had the time of his life, living the dream and giving interviews about wine and all kinds of wine.

“At twelve o’clock, you don’t really get there that often, but if you win, it’s probably worth it to go and relax and enjoy yourself.”

“A lot of it is optics as well,” said Buttler, who will play under Brook in the upcoming white-ball matches.

“You have to be very aware. Your teammates are taking care of you too, you have to take care of yourself. There may be some senior players who are more aware of how to do that.

“That’s the price you pay for being an international cricketer and playing for England – you can’t go and do whatever you want.

“You’re a professional, you have to live a professional life, which is what boys do, and you have to make it look that way too.”