Stokes: England desperate to avenge ‘rubbish’ first Ashes Test performance

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Ben Stokes believes some of the criticism of his England team has gone overboard, but would rather be called “rubbish” than “arrogant”.

A two-day defeat in the first Ashes Test in Perth last week led to plenty of difficult questions for the tourists, who have come under fire for their pre-series preparations, loose shot selection and the decision not to send senior players to this weekend’s pink ball warm-up match in Canberra.

Former Australia pace bowler Mitchell Johnson branded them “arrogant” in a strongly-worded column for the West Australian newspaper, which had previously branded Stokes “cocky captain complainer”.

Speaking before the first of five training sessions in Brisbane before Thursday’s day/night second Test, Stokes took issue with those who questioned the character of his side.

“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.”

Fans who stayed up late to tune in from the UK and several thousand who made the long trip Down Under were united in dismay and frustration after England turned a strong position at lunch on day two into a thumping defeat inside just a few hours.

And Stokes insists the players feel the same pain.

“It’s a results-based job that we’re in. We love our fans and we know we’ve got an incredible fanbase who come out here and support us,” he said.

“They want to see us win, we want to win, we’re absolutely desperate. They’re absolutely desperate. We’re all on the same wavelength.

“We know that there’ll be a lot of disappointed fans in England after that first defeat. But it’s a five-game series, we’ve got four games to go. We’ve lost the first one – we’re absolutely desperate to come home with that goal from before we even started the series, which is to win the Ashes.”

‘I could have been a lot better as captain’

Stokes described himself as “shellshocked” in the aftermath of the whirlwind loss but was calm and measured as he reviewed events a week on.

He admitted his leadership had been found wanting in the face of Travis Head’s match-clinching century and highlighted the areas his batters could improve following the costly second-innings collapse that took England from firm favourites at lunch to losers by stumps.

“I know there were areas in that fourth innings where I could have been a lot better as captain,” he admitted.

“I am the person who makes decisions about how we go out there and operate and I am the one who gives the plans to the bowlers. On reflection of myself, I wasn’t as clear as I normally am in those moments.

“The next time we’re potentially in a situation like that, I’ll be in a better place to handle something that happens so quickly.

“We’re always looking to put the opposition under pressure, but then also understand the moment we need to absorb the pressure that is being piled on to us from the opposition. We know that we are very, very good at the first bit and we all know there are areas that we can be better doing the second bit.

“We don’t shrug it off and think, ‘next time hopefully it will happen’. We are professional sportsmen, we pride ourselves on how we go about things and we pride ourselves on the results of the games we’re playing in.

“We know that there’ll be a lot of disappointed fans in England after that first defeat but it’s a five-game series. We’ve got four games to go.”

England plan extra training in Brisbane

England have booked extra training sessions in Brisbane ahead of the second Ashes Test as they look to rebound from their two-day drubbing in the series opener at Perth.

The tourists announced on Monday that no first-choice players would travel to Canberra this weekend for the pink-ball tour game against a Prime Minister’s XI, with only batter Jacob Bethell and seamers Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts joining the Lions group.

England will spend five days together in Brisbane ahead of the day-night Test at The Gabba from Thursday December 4, with an optional training slot on Saturday and a session on Sunday added to the build-up.

Saturday’s morning session will take place at Allan Border Field, with the remaining four practice outings – two in the afternoon, two under lights – staged at The Gabba from Sunday to Wednesday.

England were rolled for 172 and 164 in Perth as they suffered a 14th defeat in their last 16 Test matches in Australia – the other two results in that time have been draws.

Hussain: England ‘not arrogant’ to skip tour game

Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain on England sitting first-teamers out of pink-ball game in Canberra:

“It is not arrogant.

“They could play that game against the pink ball but The Gabba is so different from Canberra, which can be slow and low, if you listen to the Aussies out here.

“At The Gabba, England will be practising under lights, in the nets, with a pink ball to get used to conditions.

“I have heard some stuff about ‘you must go and play that two-day game because it will look so bad if you then go to Brisbane and lose’.

“But you don’t do things because you think it will look bad if you lose. You do things because you think it is the best way to prepare a side to win.

“They have decided the best way to prepare is under the lights in the nets at the Gabba.”

England right to ‘hold nerve’ with decisions

Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton, speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast:

“If an England batter had said, ‘I really want to feel bat on ball in a competitive game’ then go to Canberra – I’m sure that would have been the case. But I have no problem with England’s decision not to go.

“Not only are the pitch conditions different but also climate-wise as well. Cool in Canberra, hot and humid at The Gabba.

“As a batter, I would have wanted to come to The Gabba in good time to get used to the pace, bounce and heat, rather than have a rushed arrival from Canberra.

“The easy thing to do is panic and make a decision based on how it looks but I think you have to hold your nerve at this point. Why change tack now from decisions made a while ago?”

Ashes series in Australia 2025-26

All times UK and Ireland

• First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wickets
• Second Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
• Third Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide Oval
• Fourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
• Fifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground

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