The Ashes: Ben Stokes questions England’s mentality and demands ‘more fight’ after defeat in Brisbane
A disconsolate Ben Stokes questioned England’s mentality and demanded more fight from his side after they suffered another eight-wicket drubbing at the hands of Australia to go 2-0 down in the Ashes.
Having lost inside two days in the series opener in Perth, England were well beaten again in Brisbane as they could set Australia only 65 to win despite showing more resistence on day four at The Gabba.
The skipper himself led from the front, hitting a 36th Test fifty as he shared in a 96-run stand for the seventh wicket with Will Jacks (41) that at least forced Australia to bat again.
But the damage had already been done after a wayward bowling display early on day two that allowed Australia off to a flier in reponse to England’s first-innings 334, along with five dropped catches in the home side’s 511, and then a top-order batting collapse late on day three that had the tourists limping towards another heavy defeat.
“When the game is on the line, teams are able to handle that pressure better than us,” Stokes said in an interview with TNT Sports.
“We are a great team when we are ahead, when we are behind and playing huge catch-up we are great, but when then game is on the line we are not able to stand up to pressure. That is obvious as a captain.
“It’s a mentality, a mindset. How you get yourself into a head space to make clear decisions is so important to be successful at this level.
“No-one means to drop catches or not bowl where you are supposed to but those things cannot happen at this level.”
Stokes added: “We knew exactly how we needed to bowl and we weren’t able to do it for a long enough period to put Australia under pressure, that was evident in the way they were able to score so quickly and easily.
“We weren’t able to execute with bat and ball and we’ll be having some conversations in the dressing room.
“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.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
- First Test (Perth): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second Test (day/night): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- 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
