In what has become one of the more surreal internet trends to emerge from the Ashes series, cricket fans have taken a light-hearted cue from the viral “Day 1 as a spy” reels inspired by the blockbuster Indian spy thriller Dhurandhar to suggest that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are secretly “New Zealand spies” embedded within the England camp. The memes and short videos, shared widely across social media, playfully riff on the idea that the England captain and head coach were recruited by New Zealand after the 2019 ODI World Cup, and have since “sabotaged” England’s Test fortunes.
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The humorous claim — often tagged with #Dhurandhar and mock espionage captions — has gained traction against the backdrop of England’s 0-3 deficit in this Ashes, with fans blending cricket disappointment and internet meme culture into a comic narrative. Much like the Dhurandhar “spy” trend that imagines operatives blowing their cover through everyday “desi” habits, social media users have invented their own cricketing spin, complete with exaggerated backstories and tongue-in-cheek conspiracy theories.
A viral video of two fans claiming Stokes and McCullum to be New Zealand spies has gone viral on Instagram. In the video, one of them jokes that Stokes, a New Zealand-born cricketer, earned the trust of the England team by being a central figure in their 2019 World Cup triumph. The video was shared on Instagram hours before England were bowled out for 110 on a record 20-wicket opening day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Despite bowling out Australia for 152, England were not able to take a lead.
McCullum and Stokes were tasked with the job of rebuilding the England Test team, which was in tatters in the latter half of Joe Root’s captaincy. A 0-4 series defeat in their last Ashes tour of Australia in 2021-22 spelt the end of Joe Root’s captaincy. Stokes and McCullum promised an entertaining brand of red-ball cricket, famously known as Bazball. Yes, England managed to make an impact with their aggressive brand of cricket, but they have crumbled in their biggest test – an Ashes in Australia. England had carefully built a team that, they hoped, would give them the best chance to trouble Australia in Australia. However, England conceded the Ashes, going down 0-3 after just 11 days of cricket on their ongoing tour of Australia.
They picked a pace-rich bowling group, but two of their frontline fast bowlers – Jofra Archer and Mark Wood have broken down. Much to their concern, England’s batting has not lived up to expectation. Only twice have England gone past 300 in the first seven innings of the series, refusing to stick to the basics when under pressure. More often than not, England gained upper-hand at various stages of the three Tests, but they were not able to capitalise on it and make it a decisive advantage.
England’s troubled Ashes campaign has been marred not only by a woeful start on the field but also by scrutiny over their preparation and alleged off-field behaviour. The 0-3 result sparked questions about their readiness for Australian conditions, especially given the decision not to schedule any first-class matches on Australian soil before the opening Test. Critics pointed to that lack of match practice as a key factor in England’s batting collapses and tactical missteps against a dominant Australian attack.
Both Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum ignored advice from several of England’s former greats, remaining adamant about not scheduling warm-up matches. Despite having an 11-day gap between the first and second Tests — the latter a pink-ball encounter — England chose not to allow their Test specialists to take part in a pink-ball warm-up fixture.
Stokes has remained bullish in defence of the team’s methods. When asked after the defeat in the third Test in Adelaide whether England would have done anything differently, the captain said he would have liked to win more tosses — a response that sparked widespread backlash, with critics accusing the leadership of failing to take accountability.
Compounding England’s on-field woes are reports surrounding their mid-series break in the Queensland beach resort of Noosa. Between the second and third Tests, several players were alleged to have engaged in excessive drinking, with social-media footage even leading to a viral clip appearing to show opener Ben Duckett intoxicated. The England and Wales Cricket Board has confirmed that managing director Rob Key will investigate the claims, which some outlets have described as resembling a “stag-do” rather than a professional training respite.
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