Steve Smith and his Australia team-mates participate in native golf competitors forward of third Ashes Test, after England have been slammed for hitting the fairways throughout poor sequence begin

England’s cricketers have come under continuous scrutiny for the amount of time they have been spending on the golf course.

However, it would appear that the same criticism cannot be levelled at their Australian opponents – if their own knock in Adelaide on Sunday is anything to go by.

Skipper Steve Smith, star bowler Mitchell Starc and batter Marnus Labuschagne were among a group who headed to the pristine but notoriously-testing Kooyonga track ahead of the upcoming third Test.

Each took part in the club’s Sunday Stableford competition, along with members, and for the first time this winter were part of a scoreboard that, for them at least, makes for grim reading.

Smith, who plays off a handicap of 13, was the pick of the trio, but his score of just 25 points left him in a lowly 96th place, with 108 players taking part.

Starc, who plays off seven, has been the star of a lop-sided Ashes so far, with a staggering return of 18 wickets from two Tests. But it was a different story with club in hand rather than ball, as he could also only muster 25 points which saw him finish even further down in 98th. 

Steve Smith (pictured), Mitchell Starc and Marnus Labuschagne headed out to the Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide to play in a stableford competition on Sunday

Starc (left) and Smith (centre) struggled to score points, with the stand-in Aussie captain placing 96th out of 108 players. Starc, who plays off seven finished in 98th place

England’s cricketers have been criticised for their preparations during the Ashes series, with the stars seen playing golf before and after their defeat in Perth (Pictured: Ben Stokes)

It proved to be a round to forget for Labuschagne, currently the series’ third-highest run scorer, whose paltry return of 22 points (off a handicap of 14), left him in 102nd place with only six others having a worse round over the entire day.

While a stunning course, Kooyonga has a reputation as a tough track and, to be fair to the Baggy Greens, soaring temperatures in the area are likely to have left the greens extremely quick and tricky to navigate. Scores of 38 are often enough to take first place at a smart venue earmarked to stage a LIV event in 2027.

Elsewhere in a star-studded field, Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand legend and former Aussie and Birmingham Phoenix coach, scored 26 (off seven) to finish in 91st, while all-rounder Beau Webster (off five), also ended with 26 and finished 92nd.

While they may raise eyebrows – a golfer who plays to their handicap scores 36 points on the Stableford system – Aussie supporters may welcome the scores and view them as further evidence that their team has been focusing solely on cricket.

England, on the other hand, have been criticised for a perceived lack of preparation and a taste for the fairway.

Days before the first Test in Perth captain Ben Stokes, top-order batter Ollie Pope and bowler Matthew Potts were among those spotted playing at the Araluen Estate course.

In May, Stokes branded allegations that his side play too much golf instead of training as ‘utter rubbish’.

The skipper told Sky Sports that the narrative, which gathered pace during a white ball tour of India earlier this year.

While a stunning course, Kooyonga (pictured) has a reputation as a tough track and, to be fair to the Baggy Greens, soaring temperatures in the area are likely to have left the greens extremely quick and tricky to navigate

After England were beaten inside two days at the Perth Stadium, members of the squad, including Zak Crawley (right) and Joe Root (centre) were seen playing golf

Stokes, Ollie Pope and Jordan Cox (pictured L-R) were all seen playing a round of golf together prior to the Perth Test 

Labuschagne (pictured), who has a handicap of 14, finished the competition with 22 points and ended the day in 102nd place

‘Sometimes it does [frustrate me], because you hear comments that we don’t train hard enough, we are more bothered about golf, that we don’t work hard,’ he said.

‘It’s completely and utter… [rubbish].’

In 2023, former skipper Michael Vaughan hammered the side after they lost the first Ashes Test following a knock at a luxurious course in Buckinghamshire.

‘England opted to practice for the Ashes by playing golf for a week,’ he said. ‘I’d have loved to have seen them play at least two days of cricket leading into a big Ashes series.’