Ben Stokes said England’s Ashes defeat was “hurt” and “bad”, but insisted he wanted to continue as captain.
On the final day of the third Test in Adelaide, as Australia cruised to an 82-run victory to take an unassailable 3-0 series lead in 11 days, Stokes put up disappointing numbers in his post-match presentation.
But he vowed the team would not give up in the final two Tests and reaffirmed his desire to continue as captain even as the focus shifts to the long-term effects of failure.
Asked if the defeat made him doubt his commitment to his job with England, Stokes flatly answered “no” at a press conference.
And when asked if he still had the energy to tackle the job, Stokes said: “Of course.”
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Stokes reflected on the defeat in the immediate aftermath, saying: “That dream that got us here is over. Obviously it’s incredibly disappointing.”
“Obviously everyone is hurting and pretty emotional, but we have two games left and we need to switch our focus to that now.
“We came here with a goal and we didn’t achieve it. It hurts and it sucks, but we’re not going to quit.”
England’s current aim is to avoid a disastrous 5-0 series defeat in Australia for the third time in the last 20 years, following scorelines like the 2006-07 and 2013-14 seasons.
The Tourists’ winless record in Australia has also now grown to 18 Tests, 16 of which they have lost since their last Tasting win, capping off their 2010-11 tour win.
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Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain reflect on the fifth day of the Ashes, which ended with Australia winning by 82 points and England.
Stokes: The team showed the fight I wanted
But Stokes, who called for England to “show a little bit of determination” ahead of the third Test, said he was encouraged by the fight he saw from his side in Adelaide despite the defeat.
Jofra Archer hit his first Test five-for since 2019, sharing a stand of 100 with his captain for the ninth wicket and scoring his first half-century in England’s first innings.
Stokes’ side also had a good run, taking two of Australia’s remaining six wickets for just 38 runs, and at one point on the final morning Jamie Smith and Will Jacks were within 150 of the target with four wickets to spare, and were well on their way to a record 435.
Jamie Smith and Will Jacks both scored 91 runs with seven wickets, briefly giving England hope of a final-day victory.
“Everything last week was that I wanted to see a little more from the team and I can definitely say I saw that this week,” Stokes said.
“Some of the players who came down the list showed a lot of courage and fight that I was looking for.
“Yes, the result was bad, but I think we can gain a lot from this match for the remaining two matches.”
Stokes added: “Australia have just been able to run things on a much more consistent basis than we have with the ball, with the bat and in the field.”
“We’ve shown it gradually in the first three games, and I think we did an incredible job this week to get that far in the fourth inning.
“Jamie (Smith) and Will (Jacks) played so well this morning that I thought it was going to be another heist. “We didn’t do what we came here for, but there are some things we can take from this game.
“We’re not going to just fall down and continue this series. We’re going to give absolutely everything.”
England will next play the fourth Test in Melbourne. Tests begin on Boxing Day, before concluding with the Ashes in Sydney from January 4 to 8.
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