Alex Carey thinks the England players will benefit from their mid-Ashes trip to the beach town of Noosa but insists that memories of the 2023 series will help Australia guard against complacency in the remaining three Test matches.

As the squad assembled on the beach on Wednesday, the players were approached by two local radio hosts — dressed in full whites — holding signs that read “For sale — moral victories” and “Bazballers anonymous — free counselling”.

Captain Ben Stokes was able to embrace the humour, posing for pictures.

Australia wicketkeeper Carey, who scored 63 and took seven catches in Australia’s eight-wicket win at the Gabba, said that a mid-series break was “not new stuff” and that his team-mates were expecting England to respond strongly in Adelaide next week.

“I think it’d be a nice holiday,” Carey said in Adelaide. “It’s a pretty big series,
with lots of time between games. For the Australian cricket team, we get to go home for a few days and be with families, so touring parties have got to find time to fill in those little windows.

“I’m not sure you need to do it (but) it’s totally up to the touring groups to find ways to take your mind off cricket... You don’t want to be thinking of cricket every single day of the tour. If you do have a little break, it’s probably not a bad time to refresh the batteries.”