Australia lost the Gabba Test by eight wickets to go 2-0 down in the Ashes series.
A dejected Ben Stokes went on a scathing rant against his England teammates after the team suffered an eight-wicket defeat in the second Ashes Test at Gabba to go 2-0 down in the five-match series versus Australia.
The captain warned that the English dressing room won’t be a place for ‘weak men’ until he remains in charge, questioning their temperament for regular failures in pressure situations.
After gaining a heft first-innings lead of 177 runs, Australia bundled out England for 241 in the second essay. Chasin 65 to win, the hosts achieved victory with ease losing just two wickets.
“There is a saying that we have said a lot here that Australia is not for weak men," Stokes said after the match.
“A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men either. It’s very disappointing. A lot of it, to me, comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this game, this format, when the game’s on the line.
“In small passages we’ve been able to get some kind of control – and then we’ve let it slip away. We’ve done it again this week. It’s very, very disappointing, particularly because of the ability of the players we have in our dressing-room. We need to think a bit harder and a bit deeper about those moments and what we’re taking mentally into them. Overall, we need to show a bit more fight when it’s needed," he added.
Stokes also stressed that his partnership with Will Jacks — which went against their ultra-aggressive BazBall approach — was a message that the players needed to adapt.
Nonetheless, the England captain isn’t giving up hope of bringing the urn home. “I absolutely believe in that dressing room," Stokes said. “I have full belief in the players and the coaching staff. We know we’ve got to win these next three games. We have been 2-0 down before. We ain’t gonna shy away from the battle in front of us. But we need to look at where things have gone wrong and sort them out pretty quickly if we want to get these Ashes back to England."
“We are 2-0 down, there are three games left. If we lose hope over the next couple of weeks, even next week, we might as well not turn up. I haven’t lost hope, that dressing room hasn’t lost hope, and I’ll be doing everything I can as a captain to ensure that everyone is as positive as they possibly can be. If any negativity comes into the mind when it’s our time to perform then it’s no good," he remarked.