Call us rubbish, arrogant is too far – Stokes

Call us rubbish, arrogant is too far – Stokes

Images courtesy of Getty
  • 113 Comments

Captain Ben Stokes said he can handle criticism of his country, but that the claims of arrogance are “too far” are true.

England’s performance in the first Ashes Test was severely criticized for its actions and response.

The tourists chose not to send any of the XI from the first Test to play against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra after putting away a dominant position to lose in two days in Perth.

Mitchell Johnson, a former Australia pace bowler, described England as “cocky Poms” who are “serious embarrassment” and “arrogant”

You can call us rubbish, according to Stokes, according to Stokes. We had a test match, but it wasn’t what we wanted.

We’ll take the rough with the smooth, though, because being haughty might be a little too far. I prefer words like “waste,” but I’m not so sure about the word “arrogant.”

In preparation for the second Test, a day-nighter at the Gabba that begins on Thursday, December 4, England will begin five days of training in Brisbane.

Rain prevented England’s Saturday morning training at Allan Border Field.

Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue, and Matthew Potts, three Ashes players who did not travel to Perth, have agreed to play for the Lions during their two-day pink-ball game.

For the first time since the defeat at Perth Stadium, Stokes was speaking in public.

The all-rounder acknowledged that the opposition to England’s position on the Canberra game needs to be heated, that his team “must” learn from the first Test, and that the disappointment of Perth supporters is understandable.

England didn’t intend to play in Canberra, but the initial Test’s swift conclusion gave rise to more middle-class experience and experience.

In order to maintain the team’s unity, the tourists opted not to send the first-test XI to the capital. A slow, low pitch in mild Canberra also sounded unlikely to be helpful as a warm-up for Brisbane’s blistering heat and Gabba’s pace.

England’s decision was questioned by former captain Michael Vaughan and BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew, while Michael Atherton and Alec Stewart, both ex-england skippers, also expressed support for Stokes’ team.

“I do understand,” Stokes remarked. In Brisbane, we will be playing some pink-ball cricket, and we have the opportunity.

“But it’s undoubtedly much more than that. You consider every aspect of the equation, including the benefits and drawbacks. After that, we discuss what we believe to be the best course of action.

    • a day ago
    • 22 hours ago

After four sessions of the first Test, England had a remarkable opportunity. The visitors led by 105 runs in their second innings when they were 65-1.

However, England lost nine of their final nine wickets, including a disastrous 3-0 spell when all of Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and Joe Root were dismissed while driving at the ball.

More questions about England’s attacking style have been raised by the collapse. Stokes acknowledged that his team could have been “a lot better” despite pointing to Travis Head’s aggression, who recorded the second-fastest century in Ashes history.

“Learn from it as a team and as individuals,” said Stokes. We have identified those instances and discussed them collectively.

Could we have done better executing what we want to do, in terms of execution? Without a doubt.

Sometimes, when you make a decision, it doesn’t always work out as planned or pay off. We know we could have done much better in some ways, but that’s what matters for the rest of this tour, staying true to our beliefs about how we play our cricket.

When Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge of England’s Test series in 2022, they had won just one of their previous 17 matches.

A stronger fan base was tested this week as a result of the upturn in results and the breathtaking style of cricket. Many visitors to Perth spent large sums of money before being disappointed with England’s first two-day Ashes Test result for 104 years.

After that first defeat, “we know there will be a lot of disappointed fans,” Stokes said. We still have four games to go in this five-game series, though.

related subjects

  • England Men’s Cricket Team
  • The Ashes
  • Cricket

More on this story.

    • August 16
    BBC Sport microphone and phone

Source: BBC

234Radio

234Radio is Africa's Premium Internet Radio that seeks to export Africa to the rest of the world.