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Follow UsEngland’s Test captain Ben Stokes has spoken about some of the eyebrow-raising calls he and head coach Brendon McCullum made during last year's Ashes, saying his team "will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket".
Speaking to his team after the fourth Test at Manchester, which ended in a draw due to rain, Stokes said: “Everything we've done up until now isn't going to stop because we haven't managed to win the urn back. The reward for our work isn't what we get but what we become.
"And what we have managed to do is we've managed to become a sports team that will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket. I know it's going to be a bit flat, I know it's going to hurt that we go into the next game (at The Oval) not being able to get the urn back.
"But what we have done is something a lot bigger than any Ashes trophy could ever signify for this team – be the team that everybody will always remember,” said Stokes on the new three-part documentary series 'Ashes 2023 | Our Take' produced by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Australia managed to draw the Ashes series 2-2 in England and retained the urn. In the first Test at Edgbaston, the hosts raced to 393/8 in 78 overs on day one when Stokes decided to declare the innings and gave his bowling unit a couple of overs to make early breakthroughs.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja managed to see off the nervy period, as Australia got to 386 in their first innings. Pat Cummins and Co. were given a target of 281 and they hunted it down with two wickets remaining, putting Stokes’ decision of declaring early in the first innings under scrutiny.
"Any decision I make will never be based on 'well, we're definitely not going to lose if we make this one, so I'll go with it’. It will always be about what's going to give us the best opportunity to win a game,” said Stokes.
Speaking about bowling Harry Brook to Steve Smith at the start of his innings in one of the Tests, Stokes said: “Every batter is most vulnerable in their first however many balls, so to bring on Harry Brook … I don't think Steve Smith would have faced anybody like Harry Brook before. The last thing I think he was ever expecting, and you don't want to get out to Harry Brook."
Since 2023, England have played 13 Tests and lost seven of those. They have only won five games in this period, and former skipper Joe Root admitted that they are not the best team in the world.
"I don't think anyone thinks we're something we're not. We're not trying to say that we're the best team in the world. One of the sayings that comes out of the dressing room – I think Leachy (spin bowler Jack Leach) actually came up with it – is teams might be better than us, but they won't be braver than us. And it's a great way to play the game,” said Root.
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