‘I could have been a better captain’: Stokes admits errors as England seek Ashes reset
The sheer number of Australian voices triumphantly telling England to show some humility this past week has been slightly ironic,The first Test finished as an eight-wicket thumping, done inside 48 hours and worthy of criticism, but it was not without a genuine wobble from the hosts en route,Either way, Ben Stokes looked to do so when his players resumed training at Allan Border Field on Saturday morning before next week’s day-night second Test at the Gabba,Gone was the “shell-shocked” captain seen during the immediate aftermath of going 1-0 down and in his place, having reflected during the past few days, a far more conciliatory figure,Performances can only truly change perceptions of this England side, but there was an acceptance from Stokes that some of the blowback has been valid.
He also rowed back on calling former players such as Ian Botham, Michael Vaughan and Graham Gooch “has-beens” before the series, the trio among those to question whether their preparation were thorough enough.“I got the words I said there completely wrong,” said a sheepish Stokes.“Has-beens is a horrible word.It’s the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth at that moment.God, I’m going to be one of those one day.
But it’s not at all what I meant by that.”Talk of lessons being learned is a common refrain from defeated sides but Stokes – preferring one-on-one debriefs rather than all in one room – was happy to expand on a few.Among them was his own leadership in the field, admitting that his bowling plans during Travis Head’s whirlwind assault on the target of 205 runs slightly cracked under pressure.“I could have been a lot better as captain,” he said.“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.
I wasn’t as clear as I normally am.The key thing for me is to be completely crystal clear with my bowlers.”A concern here is that Stokes and the head coach, Brendon McCullum, remain convinced that the target set was plenty, when the brief history of Tests at Perth Stadium shows that batting conditions improve after tea on day two.England’s collapse after lunch – the loss of four for 11 when effectively 105 for one – was where the contest was lost.This is a slightly brittle England batting lineup.
Devastating on their day, no question, but one that has been bowled out inside 40 overs an alarming seven times since the start of last year.Three of these occurred in India and Pakistan – an achilles heel against spin not exactly exclusive to the current generation – but Stokes conceded the statistic told a story overall.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotion“We keep it very simple, which is always looking to put the opposition under pressure, but also understanding the moment we need to absorb it.We know we are very, very good at the first bit and there are areas that we can be better doing the second bit.“We do understand that.
We don’t shrug it off and think: ‘Next time hopefully it will happen.’ When we say: ‘We’re going to stick to what we’re doing,’ it doesn’t mean we don’t think about all of this kind of stuff.”There was also a nod to the England supporters – the thousands who have flown to Australia and those watching through the night at home – with Stokes acknowledging the frustration they have felt.“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.”Not every charge was met with a guilty plea, however.
Plenty has been said about England’s attitude, with Mitchell Johnson among those to call England arrogant in the past week.The pair met on the field during the 2013-14 Ashes, a fiery encounter when Stokes first showed his appetite for the fight.Twelve years on, the all-rounder was again pushing back.“I think arrogant might be a little bit too far, but that’s OK,” said Stokes.“We take the rough with the smooth.
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,”Those passages chiefly refer to a fearsome first-innings outing with the ball that saw Australia shot down for 132 all out; encouragement looking ahead, even if Mark Wood will miss the second instalment,Australia’s players are far too savvy to be writing off the tourists just yet.
That said, the hosts have a distinct advantage given their far greater experience of day-night Test cricket and a record that reads 14 played, 13 won.To that end, Stokes understood why England’s decision to shoulder arms to the tour match in Canberra this weekend, save for sending three unused players, looks strange from the outside.But the sticky humidity of Brisbane and a Gabba surface likely to bounce far more than Manuka Oval support the thinking.As was the case in Perth – a fast-forward match that swung more wildly than has been acknowledged in some quarters – that call will be framed by the result.
Etzebeth red mars South Africa romp as Wales slump to record home defeat
Every bit as dispiriting as expected. Worse, was it pointless? Well, it certainly had more points to it than Wales would have liked. But, worse again, was it actively alienating? A record defeat, 11 tries conceded, the first time since 1967 Wales have failed to score a point in Cardiff. The opposition on that day 58 years ago, Ireland, scored 70 fewer than the Springboks here.“It’s quite a raw, emotional dressing room,” said Dewi Lake, Wales’s captain
Constitution Hill falls again as Golden Ace storms to Fighting Fifth Hurdle win
There was another twist to what is becoming a sorry tale here on Saturday as Constitution Hill, whose first two seasons over jumps led him to being ranked among the finest hurdlers of all time, fell for the third time in his past four starts in the early stages of a much-anticipated Fighting Fifth Hurdle.The New Lion, unbeaten in five starts, also fell in the closing stages, leaving Golden Ace to pick up the pieces at long odds, just as she had in a similarly dramatic Champion Hurdle in March after Constitution Hill suffered the first fall of his career.Golden Ace was a 25-1 chance at Cheltenham and a 22-1 shot here. While her odds were trimmed slightly for next year’s festival, the 16-1 still on offer for a successful defence of her crown is a fair reflection of her place in the pecking order over hurdles. She will never be rated within 20lb of Constitution Hill at his peak, but that Constitution Hill seems to be gone for good, replaced by an impostor whose confidence at the hurdles is shot to bits
‘I could have been a better captain’: Stokes admits errors as England seek Ashes reset
The sheer number of Australian voices triumphantly telling England to show some humility this past week has been slightly ironic. The first Test finished as an eight-wicket thumping, done inside 48 hours and worthy of criticism, but it was not without a genuine wobble from the hosts en route.Either way, Ben Stokes looked to do so when his players resumed training at Allan Border Field on Saturday morning before next week’s day-night second Test at the Gabba. Gone was the “shell-shocked” captain seen during the immediate aftermath of going 1-0 down and in his place, having reflected during the past few days, a far more conciliatory figure.Performances can only truly change perceptions of this England side, but there was an acceptance from Stokes that some of the blowback has been valid
North Melbourne beat Brisbane: AFLW 2025 grand final – as it happened
Thanks a lot for following along as history was created in multiple ways as North Melbourne defeated Brisbane by 40 points in the AFLW grand final at Ikon Park. We’ll have more on the ruthless Roos in the coming days, but for now you can dive into the match report.North Melbourne foundation player, and a premiership player last year, Nicole Bresnehan presents the cup to Jasmine Garner. Bresnehan has missed almost all of this season due to a torn ACL but gets to play her part in the trophy lift.🏆 BACK-TO-BACK 🏆#AFLWGF pic
Mark Wood Ashes blow as England pace bowler ruled out of Gabba Test
Mark Wood is set to be ruled out of England’s next Ashes Test at the Gabba after reporting soreness in the troublesome left knee that required surgery in March and forced him to miss the entire home summer.The eight-wicket defeat suffered in Perth last week was Wood’s first competitive game since the Champions Trophy in February and his first Test outing for 14 months. That he is now struggling after sending down 11 overs in the first Test is of huge concern given the size of England’s task ahead.Though a voluntary session, that Wood was missing from England’s return to the nets at Allan Border Field on Saturday morning was notable and confirmation soon followed that he had reported soreness in the joint. The second Test, starting on Thursday, is expected to come too soon
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