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Australian media have branded Ben Stokes as 'England's Cocky Captain Complainer' in an effort to stoke the Ashes rivalry with the countdown underway to the first Test in Perth.
Stokes landed in the Australian city on Tuesday, with 16 days to go until the series opener at Perth Stadium.
The West Australian led took aim at Stokes on its front page, with the newspaper claiming the England captain is still 'smarting' from the 'crease-gate' controversy of the last Ashes series.
Controversy erupted on the final day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's back in 2023, when England batsman Jonny Bairstow wandered out of his crease at the end of an over - believing the ball was dead.
The England star was ultimately run out by Australia wicket-keeper Alex Carey who under-armed the ball at the stumps. As Bairstow reluctantly marched off back to the Lord's pavilion, England fans showered Australia with boos.
The West Australian highlighted the incident under the headline 'Baz Bawl' - referencing England's Baz Ball style under head coach Brendon McCullum.
The West Australian branded England captain Ben Stokes as 'England's Cocky Captain Complainer' in the build-up to the first Ashes Test later this month
The newspaper accused Stokes and England of 'persistent whingeing' in relation to Jonny Bairstow's (second left) controversial run out during the 2023 Ashes Series
Stokes' England were accused of 'carefree and careless thrash batting' ahead of the Ashes
The article accused Stokes and England of 'persistent whingeing' over the incident, as well as claiming they had 'tried to bull India into ending a game early "in the spirit of cricket"'.
Stokes and his England team had berated India for not immediately agreeing to a draw during the final hour of the fourth Test match at Old Trafford this summer.
Their frustration came as Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja continued to bat, with the Indian duo eventually going on to secure centuries before agreeing to the draw.
Australian media outlets had hit out at England at the time, with one labelling Stokes' side as 'moral hypocrites'.
The latest article by The West Australian also took aim at England's approach under McCullum and Stokes.
'Kiwi-born Ben Stokes, the King of England's self proclaimed re-invention of cricket dubbed "Baz Ball", has sauntered into Perth confident the crazed brand of carefree and careless thrash batting - untested in Australia - will reclaim the Ashes,' the article began.
It is not the first time Stokes has been the target of the newspaper, who had photoshopped him wearing a nappy while sucking on a dummy in the aftermath of the Bairstow's run out controversy in 2023.
The image showed him reaching for an unblemished looking cricket ball with the caption 'cry babies' underneath. And Stokes has hit back at the image, tweeting in response: 'That’s definitely not me, since when did I bowl with the new ball.'
Stokes hit back at the same Australian newspaper in 2023 after they branded England 'Crybabies'
It came after the England captain admitted he 'would not want to win a test match in the way Australia had' and accused the tourists of 'forgetting' the spirit of the game.
Stokes had said after the match: 'I am not disputing the fact it is out because it is out. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have put more pressure on the umpires and asked whether they had called over and had a deep think about the whole spirit of the game and whether I would want to do something like that.
'For Australia, it was the match-winning moment. Would I want to win a game in that manner? The answer is no.'
The pre-Ashes barbs were ramped up earlier this week by Australian cricket great Merv Hughes, who in a veiled swipe at England told Stokes’ side to ‘understand the rules of cricket’.
‘Understand the simple rules of cricket,’ he said to The Grade Cricketer podcast, appearing to reference Bairstow’s dismissal.
‘Just stay in your crease. If you stay in your crease, you don’t get run out. If you don’t get run out, you don’t whinge. If you don’t whinge, you can go next door and have a beer with the opposition.
‘It’s not that hard.’
But that wasn’t the end of it, with Hughes appearing to hold up a cricket rule book, sponsored by famous Aussie Beer brand, Victoria Bitter.
Aussie Test great Merv Hughes (pictured) has shot a veiled barb at Ben Stokes and England, claiming that they need to 'understand the simple rules of cricket'
‘After the last series against England, the laws of cricket got a little bit confusing from England,’ he said.
As part of a promotional stunt, Victoria Bitter has printed the laws of cricket on their cans, which will refresh fans during this summer’s series.
‘So we’ve got the laws of cricket on the cans of cricket. So basically a run out. If you stay in your crease, you’re in. If you’re out, you’re out. It’s not that hard,’ he added.
He went on to reel off some of the other rules that have been printed on the cans: ‘There’s a frivolous time delay. There’s faking injury... ‘cause we know a lot of the English bowlers, when they have their tea at tea-time, they strain their pinky finger.
‘That is not an acceptable injury is it... So you’ve got to read the laws of the game and take it into the Ashes.’
