Stokes proud England ‘held firm’ after criticism

Ben Stokes, England’s captain, says he is proud of the way his team “held firm” in the face of intense criticism before the fourth Ashes Test.

The tour has been hampered by questions over their preparation and attitude, as well as their failure to capitalize on good positions after they gave up the Ashes in just 11 days of cricket.

However, England was spared the Ashes clean sweep by a pulsating four-wicket victory in Melbourne in front of cheering travelling supporters in two days.

Stokes expressed his pride over the team’s performance in the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s victory, which ended an 18-game winless streak in Australia.

I couldn’t be prouder of how we persevered in this game, Stokes said in a statement to Test Match Special. “On the back of everything we had to deal with, we couldn’t be prouder of how we persevered as a team and as individuals as well.”

You are subjected to a variety of evaluations for leadership in various sporting organizations.

That was a character test for leadership qualities. How we handled it, both in public and in the eyes of the media and other kinds of media.

Stokes claimed that his players had no idea how distracted they had been by the extra scrutiny following their contentious mid-series break in Noosa.

He remarked, “It was important how the leadership group, led by Baz [Brendon McCullum], myself, the other coaches, and the senior players, managed to maintain as much focus as possible on the cricket.

When you cross that line onto the field, you leave everything else to the side and concentrate on what you need to do.

Before this victory, England team-mate Joe Root’s streak was 17 while Stokes had played 12 Tests in Australia without smelling a victory.

This is likely to be Root’s and Stokes’ final Ashes tour of Australia, both of whom are 34.

Stokes remarked that the win at the MCG was an “awesome feeling” and that it did mean a lot to the pair.

To have been on the right side of a result after a while is a pretty special feeling, he said. “I’ve been on a couple of tours before where it’s gone wrong.”

When the boys all walked out of the dressing room, we [he and Root] gave one last kiss and declared, “finally we’ve won one.” It was pleasant to feel.

The fifth and final Test in Sydney, which starts on Saturday, January 3 [23: 30 GMT, January 2), is now the team’s goal, according to Stokes.

The focus is still on that, and there is still a way to go about it. We had two games, and we want to see what happens, Stokes added.

We won’t let this victory spread further than necessary.