Tag: Ben Stokes

England captain Ben Stokes has demanded his players toughen up after another embarrassing defeat to Australia left the Ashes hanging by a thread, making clear the team is “not a place for weak men”.

Two Tests into the five-match series and England are reeling, crashing by eight wickets in both Perth and Brisbane and waking Monday to yet more fierce criticism.

Facing an almost impossible task to win the last three Tests to regain the Ashes, Stokes wants to see more fire from his players.

“There is a saying that we have said a lot here, Australia is not for weak men,” Stokes told the BBC. “A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men either.”

Stokes was particularly critical of England’s crumbling under pressure moments, in contrast to Australia, who have been able to dig deep and get the upper hand.

“Do we need to start thinking about what mentality we are taking into those pressure moments?” Stokes said.

“When we are on top, we are great, and when behind the game, we are also very good, but when that moment is neck and neck, we are not coming out on top on enough occasions.”

Australian media had a field day at England’s expense with headlines including “Humiliated”, “Humbled” and “Bazball in Ashes”, referring to the aggressive style favoured by Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum that has failed so far.

Former England great Geoffrey Boycott was scathing in his assessment.

“Brisbane was a horror show: irresponsible batting, bowling too short, too wide or too full and catches dropped,” he said in a newspaper column.

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“With this sort of batting and bowling, they couldn’t win an egg cup, let alone the Ashes urn.”

England have more than a week to regroup before the must-win third Test in Adelaide on December 17, where Australia are set to be strengthened by the return of skipper Pat Cummins.

But a scheduled four-day mini holiday on the beach at tourist playground Noosa after two crushing defeats may not be the best look.

Ben Stokes defended the decision, saying it was important for players to decompress.

“We have been here four weeks, and they have been pretty full on,” he told reporters. “As physical as this game is, a huge part of it is also the mental side of it. I know that. I have experienced that.”

“I know what the game can do to you when things aren’t quite feeling right or going well.

“Trust me when I say it is so, so important for teams to be able to go away as a team and almost put the pressures aside for a couple of days,” he added.

Adding to England’s woes, McCullum has been slammed for suggesting the team “trained too much” in the lead-up to the day-night clash in Brisbane.

Following the Perth defeat, England opted against putting their first-choice players into a pink-ball tour game in Canberra and instead had five intense sessions in the Brisbane nets.

“I actually feel like we over-prepared to be honest,” he said. “I think the boys just need a few days off, and we probably need to change up a few of the training methods.”

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BRISBANE: England captain Ben Stokes has urged his players to continue enjoying their time off without being distracted by media attention, following the controversy involving e-scooter rides during the ongoing Ashes tour of Australia.

England arrived in Brisbane last week after suffering a crushing defeat in the opening Test in Perth, a match that ended inside two days and created a long gap before the second Test at The Gabba, scheduled for December 4.

During the break, Stokes, fast bowler Mark Wood and wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith were spotted riding e-scooters in the city without helmets, a move that breaches Queensland road safety laws and could attract fines.

Under local regulations, riding without protective headgear can attract a fine of up to 166 Australian dollars. Smith’s scooter was reportedly fitted with a helmet, but it was not being worn.

Despite the backlash and risk of police action, Ben Stokes played down the incident and backed his players’ right to unwind away from cricket, stressing the importance of mental freedom on long and demanding tours.

“If the media think it’s going to stop us enjoying this country when we have time off, then it’s not going to do that,” Stokes said at the pre-match press conference.

“One of the most important things on tour, especially when you’re under pressure, is to go out, free your mind and enjoy yourself.”

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The England skipper also addressed the heightened scrutiny surrounding the team’s movements, noting that players are being followed closely at public venues across Brisbane.

“They’re going to be there and film us, so the message to the group is not to make decisions based on the fear of being caught on camera,” he added.

“We are human. We need to enjoy countries when we get the opportunity.”

Ben Stokes further defended the idea of players stepping away from the game between matches, saying he saw nothing wrong with spending downtime on leisure activities.

“I don’t see anything wrong with going out and spending your time off on a golf course or having coffee or lunch, riding on a scooter,” he said.

“It’s fine if they [the media] want to keep doing it; they are all polite and don’t intrude on our personal space. We have a job to do, they have a job to do.”

England trail 1-0 in the five-Test series and will be desperate to level the contest under lights in the second Test

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BRISBANE: England captain Ben Stokes said on Saturday that lessons had been learned from their crushing first Ashes Test defeat to Australia in Perth, but that the team had moved on.

Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Ashes series with a stunning eight-wicket win in a frenetic two-day clash in Perth characterised by batting collapses and Travis Head’s match-winning 123.

In the aftermath, England was slammed as “brainless” and even “arrogant” by former greats for their meek performance after putting themselves in a strong position to win.

“We’ve talked about it, and we’ve moved on,” Stokes said in Brisbane ahead of the second day-night Test starting on Thursday. “We had some good conversations around the group.”

“Look, Travis played an amazing knock, there’s no hiding away from that,” he said. “But that’s not the overriding contribution as to why we didn’t end up getting the result.”

Ben Stokes noted there were “amazing things throughout that Test match.”

“The way that we bowled in the first innings … and we ended up putting a score on the board that we believed was definitely defendable,” he said.

“But we all know there were moments in that game where we could have been a lot better to help us gain even more of an advantage that we did have.

“We know that, and we understand that. And the important thing that you need to do from that as a team and as individuals is learning from that.”

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England face a daunting task at the Gabba in Brisbane to level the series with Australia, masters of pink-ball Tests, winning 13 out of 14 matches under lights.

Despite England having a much more mixed record, management opted against any of their main players being part of a two-day day-night clash against a Prime Minister’s XI this weekend in Canberra.

The decision was slammed as “amateurish” by former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, who added that he was “staggered” that they would turn down the opportunity.

Stokes said he understood the blowback, but defended the move with England instead scheduling extra training sessions in Brisbane.

“That’s where it is, it’s in Canberra, which is a different state,” he said.

“The (weather) conditions are obviously going to be completely different to what we’ve got coming up.

“So what you try and do is you try and take all the factors into consideration, the pros, the cons, whatever it may be, and then you always discuss that and decide what it is that we think is going to be our best preparation.

“We know that we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we are best prepared for this game,” he added.

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Captain Ben Stokes admitted Saturday he was “shell-shocked” at a crushing loss to Australia in the first Ashes Test but told his England team they must move on fast for the next clash in Brisbane.

The tourists had a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time in 15 years, but they blew it inside two days at Perth Stadium.

After crumbling under a bowling onslaught from Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, their hyped pace attack had no answer to a rampant Travis Head, who thrashed an incredible 123 to seal victory by eight wickets.

“Little bit shell-shocked, it was pretty phenomenal from Head,” Stokes said. “It’s pretty raw, pretty emotional, but that was some knock.

“We tried three or four different plans to get him, but when he’s going like a train he’s very hard to stop.”

Despite the demoralising loss Stokes saw some positives, particularly their first-innings bowling effort which saw Australia dismissed for 132.

“The way in which we bowled yesterday was phenomenal. A lot happened on day one, a good day for the bowlers,” he said.

“It’s a tough one as we felt we were in control. We’ll let this sink in, but we’ve got four more games.

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“It’s a long time before Brisbane, we’ll go away and put in the graft.”

The day-night Brisbane Test starts on December 4.

With so many players in the squad experiencing their first Ashes, Stokes admitted he had his hands full trying to lift them.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got to let that whole two hours sort of sink in first and reflect on it properly, without the emotion that’s attached to what’s just gone on there,” he said, referring to Head’s knock.

“Obviously there’s disappointment when you come off the field being on the losing side.

“So that’s up to myself. It’s up to some of the other senior guys who have a lot of experience in big series like these, because you’ve got to let emotions like this sink in, and it has got to hurt.

“But also, you’ve then got to get rid of them as quickly as you possibly can, while also learning from it.

“Because when we get to Brisban,e we need to be back up to that mindset of how we came into this game, still very confident of our abilities and achieving the goal.

“It’s crucial about not taking any baggage from this result into Brisbane.”

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PERTH: Nineteen wickets fell on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test here on Friday, with England’s attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172.

A rampaging Mitchell Starc took 7-58 to put England on the back foot after Stokes won the toss on a fine day at a packed Perth Stadium and chose to bat.

Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the only resistance as they crumbled after lunch.

But England’s elite fast bowlers, led by an exceptional Stokes with 5-23, fought back to reduce the hosts to 123-9 at stumps, trailing by 49.

Nathan Lyon was on three with Brendan Doggett yet to score.

There was early drama in Australia’s reply when Usman Khawaja failed to open with Marnus Labuschagne, instead walking out with debutant Jake Weatherald.

In a brutal introduction to Test cricket, Weatherald went for a second-ball duck, left on the floor by a Jofra Archer bullet and given out lbw.

Labuschagne fended off 41 balls for nine before he too succumbed to the sheer speed of Archer, bowled by a fuller delivery.

And when Steve Smith fell for 17 to Brydon Carse in the next over, caught by Brook at slip, it was game on.

Khawaja, who was feeling stiff, came in at four but lasted just six balls, blown away by a Carse bouncer that took a nick to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, leaving Australia reeling at 31-4.

Cameron Green (24), Travis Head (21), Alex Carey (26) and Starc (12) all got starts, but in a reflection of the depth of England’s pace stocks, Stokes removed them when he brought himself on.

Starc bagged three wickets in an intimidating opening spell, including Joe Root for a duck, before returning to send Stokes packing in his first over after the lunch break, then mopping up.

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All five previous Tests at the Perth venue have been won by the side batting first, but England did their best to challenge that, getting off to a horror start.

Veteran strike weapon Starc delivered as he has so many times before, enticing a thick edge from Zak Crawley on his sixth ball that Khawaja did well to collect low at slip, the opener gone for nought.

Starc has now taken a wicket in the first over of an innings 24 times.

At the other end, Ben Duckett settled his nerves with a textbook drive off Scott Boland to bank the first four of the series.

But just as he was getting going, Starc pounced again, trapping him lbw for 21 to leave England tottering on 33-2.

That brought Root to the crease in his latest campaign for an elusive first century in Australia.

He only lasted seven balls, edging a seaming delivery into the safe hands of Labuschagne at third slip.

Pope survived the furnace and was composed before Green came on, and he was out lbw, leaving the visitors on 105-4 at lunch.

Brook hit Scott Boland for a six in the first over after the break before Starc again worked his magic, taking out Stokes’s stumps with an inswinger when the captain was on six.

A fearless Brook raced to his 14th Test half-century before feathering a short ball to Carey, earning Doggett his maiden Test wicket on debut.

Starc then removed Gus Atkinson cheaply to give him the 17th five-wicket haul of his career, and with Doggett, they ruthlessly cleaned up the tail.

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Ben Stokes has been awarded a fresh two-year contract that will take him through to the end of the next home Ashes series in 2027, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Tuesday.

The Test captain, whose previous deal had been due to expire next year, is one of 14 players handed two-year deals by the ECB, including pace bowler Jofra Archer and highly rated young batsman Jacob Bethell.

Stokes, 34, has a chequered injury history and has not played any cricket since July following a shoulder injury.

But he is expected to be available for the first Test of a five-match Ashes series against Australia, which starts in Perth on November 21.

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Jonny Bairstow’s central contract has finally come to an end, while spinner Jack Leach also misses out after falling out of favour.

Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket, said the contracts reflect the depth and strength of talent available.

“We have awarded two-year deals to our multi-format players, so we can manage their workloads responsibly and give them the stability they need to perform across formats,” he said.

“We have also secured a number of white-ball players on longer agreements to help us plan effectively around the growing franchise calendar and ensure England remains their priority.”

England Men’s Central Contracts (2025/26)

Two-year contracts): Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes and Josh Tongue.

One-year contracts: Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, Luke Wood and Mark Wood.

Development contracts: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes and Mitchell Stanley.

Lapsed contracts: Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, Chris Woakes and John Turner.

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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has picked England all-rounder Ben Stokes over legendary Imran Khan in his all-time ODI XI.

Appearing on a sports podcast, Butt was asked to pick an all-time ODI XI, with no more than two players from one country.

The southpaw picked star players from India, West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and England. He chose Ben Stokes as captain while Proteas batting maestro AB de Villiers was slotted in as an opener and wicket-keeper.

The middle order featured Brian Lara, Viv Richards, Kumar Sangakara, and Virat Kohli.

Butt’s bowling attack combined spin and pace: Abdul Qadir and Muttiah Muralitharan provided the spin options, while Wasim Akram led the fast bowling unit alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Jacques Kallis, with Stokes offering an additional seam option.

However, the most notable omission was Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan.

Explaining his decision, Salman Butt pointed to the balance of the side.

“Two spinners, three genuine fast bowlers — and because Jacques Kallis also bowled at 140 km/h, plus there’s Ben Stokes as well,” he said.

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When asked about leaving Imran Khan out, Butt praised his status, alongside highlighting the team’s needs and modern-day cricket.

“Yes, he didn’t fit into this team. As an all-rounder, Ben Stokes was my choice,” he explained.

“He couldn’t find a place, what can we do? I’m not denying Imran Khan’s greatness—he’s a far superior cricketer, and Pakistan has probably produced very few players better than him. But if you look at the context and also consider today’s cricket, it’s not the same as the era in which he excelled,” he explained.

“If you bring any of those players into modern cricket, even one of them, you have to consider everything — fitness levels, their performances over time, their match-winning ability, their leadership, their multiple roles. That’s how I looked at it when I made my ODI XI,” Butt added.

He further clarified his picks, explaining that he had picked players with modern-day cricket parameters in mind.

“Yes, I was asked for an ODI XI, but I tried to consider players across generations. From India, I picked Bumrah and Virat Kohli. Now, of course, people will ask — where is Tendulkar? But the parameters were already given. You have to see how players would also fit into modern cricket,” he concluded.

Salman Butt All-Time ODI XI:

Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, Viv Richards, Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes (C), AB de Villiers (WK), Jacques Kallis, Abdul Qadir, Muttiah Muralitharan, Wasim Akram, Jasprit Bumrah

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England Test captain Ben Stokes has officially joined Northern Superchargers as a mentor for the upcoming season of The Hundred, taking on a non-playing role due to ongoing injury and fitness management.

Stokes, 34, has featured in five matches for the Superchargers across the 2021 and 2024 editions of the 100-ball tournament.

However, he was already set to miss this year’s campaign after opting to manage his workload ahead of the Ashes series in Australia later this year.

The all-rounder is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained during the fourth Test against India in July.

The injury also ruled him out of the fifth and final Test at The Oval, where Ollie Pope led the side in his absence.

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While he won’t be seen on the field, Ben Stokes will still have a presence in the dressing room, joining head coach Andrew Flintoff’s support staff to guide the Northern Superchargers from the sidelines.

Before his injury setback, Stokes had delivered a strong performance in the series against India.

He bowled 140 overs across four Tests, claiming 17 wickets at an average of 25.24. With the bat, he amassed 304 runs in seven innings at an impressive average of 43.43.

It is worth mentioning that in Stokes’ absence, India edged out England by six runs in a thrilling final Test at The Oval, drawing the five-match series 2-2 last week.

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Ben Stokes is preparing himself for an “emotional” tribute to Graham Thorpe when the late former England batter is honoured during this week’s fifth and deciding Test against India at the Oval.

Thorpe took his own life on August 4, 2024, having battled depression and anxiety for several years, with police confirming he had died following an incident on a railway line near his home.

The left-handed batsman, who spent his entire professional career in south London with Oval-based Surrey, scored 6,744 Test runs at an average of 44.66 in 100 matches from 1993 to 2005.

He later held various coaching positions, including a role as England’s batting chief, where he worked with current players such as Test captain Stokes and Joe Root.

A Day for Thorpey will be held on Friday, August 1, in support of mental health charity Mind on what would have been his 56th birthday.

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“Thorpey’s been a very influential character as a player and a coach in English cricket,” Stokes told reporters at the Oval on Wednesday.

“A few of us in that dressing room spent a lot of time with him coming through the ranks and, as we got into the main (England) team, Thorpey spent a lot of years around us.”

The all-rounder, who will miss the Oval finale because of a shoulder injury, added: “It’s going to be a special day for all English fans, a special day for his family to see how much he meant to English cricket and how much he means to the current England dressing room.”

Coroner Jonathan Stevens recorded an official verdict of suicide at an inquest last week but said there had been “shortcomings in the care” provided to the retired cricketer in his final months.

The fifth Test at the Oval starts on Thursday, with England 2-1 up in the series.

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Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has thrown his weight behind Ben Stokes following the handshake controversy during the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford.

The Three Lions captain, Stokes, has been under fire regarding his behavior during the final few moments of the Manchester Test.

With India’s batters, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, nearing their centuries on Sunday, England offered India the option to shake hands and accept the draw; however, the visitors chose to stay on the field until both batters completed their tons.

As a result, England utilized their part-time bowlers and allowed Harry Brook to bowl until the final moments against the Indian batters.

Now, Kevin Pietersen has come out in the defence of England’s captain and defended England’s frustration.

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“Two days fielding and no result on the cards – you WANT to get off the field!” he wrote on X.

“You cannot have a pop at Stokes for his frustration. Very easy to have a pop at him when you’re sitting in your lounge watching. You’re NOT in the battle. Leave the men in the ring to be emotional,” Kevin Pitersen added.

Ben Stokes has been heavily criticized for shaking hands despite Indian batters playing in their nineties.

Earlier, England legend Geoffrey Boycott also criticized England’s approach during the final hour of the Test match.

“What goes around comes around. England were gobby enough when it suited them, so you can’t blame India for wanting to stay on and allow two batsmen who had worked their socks off to reach their hundreds,” Boycott wrote in a  British outlet.

“Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar deserved their hundreds. They left the ball well, played with the full face of the bat, and defended their wickets at all costs. Well done.”

He highlighted the Indian batters’ resilience and said that he would have done the same as Jadeja and Sundar did.

“These India players are tough cookies. They do not take a backward step. There is no way I would have let anyone drag me off on 89 after I had worked hard all day to save the game for my team,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote.

It is worth noting that India managed to salvage a draw despite England’s substantial lead. Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar starred with tons and managed to keep the series alive.

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