With his team under pressure after losing the first two Tests of the ongoing Ashes, England captain Ben Stokes rolled back memories of his side’s dramatic resurgence during the 2023 edition back home, as he looks to inspire another turnaround, this time in Australia, with the third Test starting in Adelaide from Wednesday.
With Australia in control after the opening two matches, England face a daunting task and must win all three remaining Tests to keep their hopes of reclaiming the Ashes alive. Despite the uphill challenge, Stokes is positive that the path forward is clear, with three matches still left to play.
The England skipper pointed to the 2023 series in England, when his side also fell 0-2 behind before rallying with victories at Leeds and The Oval to level the contest 2-2.
“We’re able to draw on experience from being in this position before,” Stokes said.
“We know what it’s like to be in this situation. We knew we had to come here and win this number of games anyway, so that hasn’t changed from before we started.
“Everyone knows what needs to happen in the coming weeks and the games after, so if anything, it actually makes things a little bit simpler and clearer for us.
“I’ve got full backing that we can do this.”
For England to claw their way back into the series, Stokes acknowledged that improvement is required across the board, particularly from the top order, which has struggled for consistency in the first two Tests. Joe Root remains the only England batter to score a century so far, while Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, and Stokes himself have managed just one half-century apiece across the opening four innings.
Irrespective of the stats, Stokes is confident his batters will respond in Adelaide, citing the sustained success the group has enjoyed under his leadership.
“We backed a group over a long period of time to not only enjoy this game when it’s all going well, but these are the times when the players that you’ve backed, you trust them to go out there and deliver in moments like these,” Stokes added.
“Those are the guys that hopefully this week stand up for the team and the country as well.
“I would never put it like that ‘you owe me, you owe us’. Just go out and do what needs to be done and back yourself to do it.”
Two days before the start of the third Test, England have already confirmed their playing XI, making one change to their side, with Gus Atkinson stepping aside for fellow fast bowler Josh Tongue.
England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue