England fast-bowling legend James Anderson has chastised men's Test captain Ben Stokes for praising his team's 'effort' in the 2025-26 Ashes, which they lost 4-1. Anderson said he felt like an enraged Roy Keane, the Manchester United legend-turned-pundit, after hearing Stokes.

Stokes had concentrated on his players' "commitment," attributing England's subpar performance against the Ashes to their "lack of execution" and poor fielding, virtually ignoring the preparation element.

“We’ve dropped a lot of catches on this tour, which have been very costly to the overall situation of the games. In terms of stepping up, I can never fault anyone’s commitment or energy that they’ve given into this. We haven’t performed well; we know that, and we hold our hands up to that. But no one should question the care and commitment to try and go out there and give it their absolute best. It’s just been down to the lack of execution," Stokes said after the last Test in Sydney.

Keane is well-known for his rants at players who fail to grasp the fundamentals of the game during matches. There are various brief videos available on the internet that show Keane saying 'that's his job' anytime someone compliments a player for doing anything simple correctly.  

Comparing his sentiments with Roy Keane, Anderson stated that 'running' should be the bare minimum for all cricketers and that 'you are in the wrong sport' if you can't do it.

“When I saw Stokes come out and say, the way Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse have just run in like consistently, I had a Roy Keane moment. I was like, That’s your job. If you’re not willing to run in all day for your team, don’t bother. You’re in the wrong sport,” Anderson said on BBC Radio.

Anderson was all praise for Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who was the top wicket-taker in the series.

“Starc, for me, was the absolute standout of the series. He bowled on Day 5 of the final Test as quickly as he had bowled all series long. He was consistent with his speeds. But that is what you expect from all your bowlers. That is the standard. It always annoys me (when someone says), ‘Can’t fault your efforts.’ Well, the effort shouldn’t be a thing. It should just be in you,” he added.