After losing the second Test in Brisbane by eight wickets, Ben Stokes weighed in on England’s inability to execute their plans with bat and ball, which resulted in the defeat — their second in the five-match series.
Dropped catches, a lack of batting partnerships and indiscipline with the ball left England 2–0 down at the Gabba, making the road ahead tough as the remaining three games now become must-win encounters.
“We weren’t able to execute with bat and ball, and we’ll be having some conversations in the dressing room,” Stokes said in an interview with TNT Sports. “It seems to be a constant theme that when the pressure is on, Australia keep outdoing us. They say Australia is not a place for weak men, and we are definitely not weak, but we need to find something.”
Stokes stressed that his team have not been able to withstand pressure when the game is on the line.
“We are a great team when we are ahead; when we are behind and playing huge catch-up we are great, but when the game is on the line we are not able to stand up to pressure. That is obvious to me as captain. It’s a mentality, a mindset. How you get yourself into a headspace to make clear decisions is so important to being successful at this level.”
England have now lost 17 Ashes Tests on the bounce down under. With only three Tests remaining, the Stokes-led team will have to win all of them in order to reclaim the urn.
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