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Ahead of the second Ashes 2025-26 Test at the Gabba, several England players were photographed riding e-scooters in Brisbane without helmets, an act that violated Queensland road-safety laws. While the incident has grabbed attention and led to further criticism of the visiting team, vice-captain Ollie Pope has tried to diffuse the situation, urging teammates to follow local rules while emphasising the importance of maintaining personal downtime on a long tour.

England began their tour of Australia on a poor note after being thrashed inside two days in the opening Test in Perth. The media pressure has only increased since the squad landed in the country, where everything from their airport arrivals to golf sessions and aquarium visits has been closely tracked. Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson even labelled the team arrogant following their heavy defeat.

Meanwhile, the e-scooter incident saw captain Ben Stokes, Jamie Smith, and injured speedster Mark Wood riding without helmets. Notably, the Queensland law mandates the use of approved helmets when using mobility devices, with a fine of AD 166 (around 82 pounds) for non-compliance. Images of the players without head protection quickly circulated in Australian outlets. Speaking to reporters, Pope addressed the incident.

"Just put a helmet on next time. Rules are rules. For us as cricketers and as people, it's important to try and be able to switch off and be yourself. Locking your doors and not coming out of your room is the unhealthy thing to do, as we saw in Covid timesWhatever you're doing in your off time, whether it's just taking your mind away from cricket for a day or two, that's really important. If they want to catch us doing that, then so be it. It is important to have that balance on a long tour like this," said batter Pope.

The English batter stressed that players need the chance to switch off during a long and mentally draining Ashes tour. Reflecting on his previous trip to Australia in 2019-20 under strict COVID-19 restrictions, he stated how counterproductive it can be for players to isolate themselves.

On the field, England are looking to regroup after the Perth defeat as they look to level the five-match series. The second Test, which will be a Day-Night game, sees Australia having an upper hand as they have won 13 of their 14 pink-ball Tests, though their only loss came at this very venue in 2024. 

The tourists have made one change to their starting XI. All-rounder Will Jacks replaces Mark Wood, who has been ruled out with injury. Jacks, who last played a Test in 2022 and took a six-fer on debut in Rawalpindi, gets the nod over Shoaib Bashir due to his all-round skill set and batting depth.

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer