Ben Stokes, England’s star all-rounder criticised his own performance during England’s Ashes series defeat Down Under recently. The star cricketer thought his contributions, vital to the tourists’ chances, had been insufficient against the hosts Australia in the recent Ashes 2021/22 series.
Ben Stokes made a late announcement of his decision to play in the Ashes, returning from a break he took for the betterment of his mental health. With the 30-year old not playing any cricket leading up to the series, he couldn’t flourish as expected. He ended up with 236 runs and just four wickets in five Tests.
Ben Stokes Feels He Let Himself And A Lot Of Other People Down After Poor Outing In Ashes 2021/22
Ben Stokes stated that looking back on the series, he feels disappointed for letting fans down and wants to make amends. While the Test team’s vice-captain admitted his performances weren’t up to that level, he also expressed his dissatisfaction with the fitness levels he had during the series.
“When I look back on it, I felt I let myself down but the thing that really grinds me the most and hurts me the most is that I let a lot of other people down and I never want to feel that way again. Everyone’s taken some good hard lessons from Australia.”
Notable that Ben Stokes had an underwhelming Ashes down under as the all-rounder scored just 236 runs in 10 innings with an average of 23.6 which included 2 fifties. Also, he could pick only 4 wickets with an average of 71.50.
The leading all-rounder of the English team was further quoted as saying: Looking back on Australia, we’ve had some honest reflections not only as a team but individuals as well. I personally felt I let the team down with more than just performances: I would have liked to have been in better physical shape.” .
England’s batting performances were the most disappointing aspect of their 4-0 Ashes defeat. Joe Root and company failed to reach the 300-run mark even once across the five Tests, while Jonny Bairstow was the only batsman to score a century.
England faced a miserable defeat in The Ashes 2021-22 earlier. They lost the 1st Test by 9 wickets, 2nd Test by 275 runs, 3rd Test by an innings and 14 runs, and 5th Test by 146 runs. The 4th Test had ended in a draw. Hence, England faced a humiliating 4-0 loss in the tournament.
Ben Stokes Withdrew From IPL 2022 To Focus On His Top Priority-Tests
Ben Stokes, who withdrew from this year’s IPL, addressed that decision by saying that Test cricket holds top priority for him. With plenty of cricket to take place in the coming months, he saw it fit to give red-ball cricket the priority. The 30-year-old also said that Test cricket is the most important thing for him and that’s the reason why he opted out of IPL 2022.
“I had a chance to have a good look at things going forward and when it came down to it, the real thing that got me excited, out of all three formats, was Test cricket. That was a big decision – to come out of the IPL, to make sure that I was able to give everything I possibly could to this Test team.”
The star of England’s maiden World Cup victory in 2019 stated that the schedule requires him to make a choice between different formats.
“There’s a massive summer ahead, a lot of cricket to play and you just have to look at the schedules at times and think what’s the most important thing – and Test cricket is the most important for me.”
Ben Stokes was part of England’s four-day practice match in Antigua ahead of the Test series against the West Indies, which begins on March 8. The New Zealand-born cricketer made only 11 and 19 in the two batting innings he had in the match. However, he took two wickets in the second innings of the opposition.