England skipper Ben Stokes admitted that poor execution, both in Adelaide and throughout the opening three Tests of the summer, has been the primary reason behind his side surrendering yet another Ashes series in Australia.
England mounted a spirited fight in the fourth innings at the Adelaide Oval but ultimately fell 82 runs short of a world-record chase on Sunday. The defeat handed Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead heading into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Addressing the media after the match, Stokes struck a measured tone, acknowledging the disappointment while stressing that the remaining two Tests still hold value for his team.
“Obviously, it sucks. It’s very disappointing knowing now that we can’t achieve what we set out to do here,” Stokes said at the post-match press conference.
“Now, it moves over into: ‘What else do we have in front of us?’. We’ve still got two more games to play for… walking out there and playing for England is a good enough thing in itself.
“We aren’t going to turn around and kick the stumps over because we’ve lost the series here. There’s still so much more to play for,” he added.
England once again showed flashes of promise but failed to deliver a complete performance. Several players made starts or contributed in patches, only to fall in familiar ways, while Australia, despite not being flawless, maintained control for most of the four-and-a-half-day contest.
“I’d never underestimate the Australian team… I think it’s quite simple for me that Australia has been able to execute batting, bowling and fielding a lot better than us, on a much more consistent basis.
“I think some individuals have learned a bit more about themselves this week. It’s obviously hard to look at it with too much positivity at the moment… but I’ll take the positives out of some of the things that I’ve seen this week.
“When we lost the toss and had to bowl, I think we bowled Australia out for an under-par on a day one wicket in Adelaide. We knew we were actually ahead of the game there before we even batted.
“We were close, but not close enough. And being close isn’t going to do much for you when you need to win a game,” Stokes said.
The third Test also saw a noticeable shift away from England’s trademark ‘Bazball’ approach, with batters such as Zak Crawley and Harry Brook opting for a far more restrained style. While their technique appeared solid, it underlined that England’s aggressive blueprint is no longer the only method they are willing to employ in Australian conditions.
“We know the plans that work out here. As I said at the start, we just haven’t been able to execute those plans for long enough… you just can’t be so poor with your execution as consistently as we have been over these first three games, particularly with the ball.
“I think this is our best game of cricket out on this tour, but it’s still not good enough.
“Obviously, it’s a pretty emotional time for me in the dressing room (and everyone else)… but when we get ourselves together and speak about the game, we will take a lot out of this game.
“At the end of the day, what you do out there (on-field) is what counts… we’ve not been able to stand up to the barrage of execution from Australia,” the English skipper stated.
Stokes also addressed his limited bowling involvement during a key phase on day three, explaining it was a precautionary decision driven by fitness concerns.
“The first two days were pretty big… the next day honestly, I just didn’t feel right. I knew I still had a big role to play for the team, so I didn’t want to expose myself to something where I knew I wasn’t quite fit.
“I felt like I was going to snap every time I ran after a ball, so I just looked after myself for the remaining few days of this game… I actually listened to the advice given to me for a change,” he further added.
