The Ashes: Ben Stokes and England teammates enjoy scooter joyride days out from second Test in Brisbane

England’s pleasure tour of Australia has continued just three days out from the second Ashes Test, with Ben Stokes and his merry men hitting the streets of Brisbane for a joyride. Stokes and injury-prone fast bowling spearhead Mark Wood were pictured cruising the streets on rentable scooters, taking a relaxed approach to acclimatising to conditions ahead of a must-win day-night clash. In further signs that Wood won’t play the pink-ball Test that starts on Thursday, he was again sporting a clunky brace on his left knee, reports from the England camp suggesting he was struggling with soreness despite bowling only 11 overs across two days in Perth. The under-fire Poms have shown few signs of haste in efforts to bounce back after being embarrassed inside two days in Perth, the side using their bonus days of rest in Western Australia to hit the links. They also declined an invitation to get extra practice against a pink ball in the Prime Minister’s XI clash in Canberra over the weekend, citing needing to acclimatise to Brisbane’s weather while rolling out the B-Team instead. It comes as the side’s star batter started the excuses for potential defeat on Sunday, suggesting that if it were up to him, there wouldn’t be a pink-ball Test played during the Ashes. His comments come despite England signing off on the match being played more than two years ago, and also fly in the face of the tourists’ positive-at-all-costs mantra on and off the field. Asked whether Australia needed a pink-ball match, Root replied: “I personally don’t think so”. “But it does add things. It’s obviously very successful and very popular here, and obviously Australia’s got a very good record as well. I can see why we’re playing one of these games,” he said. “It’s part and parcel of (the series), making sure you’re ready for it. A series like this, does it need it? I don’t think so, but doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be one.”