Ben Stokes and two other England players risk trouble with Australian police just days before Ashes Test

Footage shared on social media over the weekend appeared to show Smith and Wood using hire scooters with helmets visibly clipped to the front rather than worn.

Stokes was also seen travelling through the city without protective headgear.

There is no indication that any player has been approached by local authorities, but the images raised questions at an already delicate moment for the touring side.

England arrived in Queensland last week to prepare for Thursday’s day-night Test at The Gabba, attempting to reset after their bruising two-day defeat in Perth.

During downtime, several players explored Brisbane using commercial e-scooters, a common mode of transport in the city. The matter is believed to have been noted by observers but has not triggered formal intervention.

More pressing for England is the growing likelihood that Wood will miss the second Test after a recurrence of a knee issue.

Over the weekend, he was filmed riding a sit-down scooter with a brace strapped over his left knee.

He has since withdrawn from training and spent Monday watching from the boundary as team-mates prepared under grey skies at The Gabba.

The 35-year-old missed the entire domestic season after surgery on the same knee in March and bowled only 11 overs in Perth, where concerns had also been raised about hamstring soreness.

Should Wood be ruled out, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts - both currently playing in Canberra for the Lions against the Prime Minister’s XI - are the leading options to replace him.

Stokes, meanwhile, has been forced to address a wave of criticism surrounding England’s preparation, shot selection and their decision not to send senior players to the pink-ball warm-up in Canberra.

Some of the sharpest commentary came from former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who labelled the side “arrogant” in a column that revived the newspaper’s earlier description of Stokes as a “cocky captain complainer”.

Stokes rejected that assessment as excessive.

“I think arrogant might be a little bit too far, but that’s OK. We’ll take the rough with the smooth,” he said.

“Call us whatever you want. I’d rather words like ‘rubbish’, but ‘arrogant’, I’m not so sure about that.

"We didn’t have the Test match that we wanted to but we were great in passages of that game.”

He also addressed his own mis-phrased remarks about former England captains, after reacting to criticism of England’s build-up by referring to “has-beens”. Stokes admitted the wording was wrong.

“Everyone knows it was a slip of the tongue,” he said. “Has-beens is a horrible word but it’s the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth in that moment. God, I’m going to be one of those one day! I got the words I said completely wrong.”

Reflecting on the defeat in Perth, Stokes said the abrupt collapse - England lost nine wickets for 99 runs after lunch on day two - exposed shortcomings in decision-making. He accepted that his own captaincy could have been sharper during Travis Head’s match-turning century.

“I know there were areas in that fourth innings where I could have been a lot better as captain,” he said. “On reflection, I wasn’t as clear as I normally am in those moments.”