Last Updated on 4 months ago by Charbel Coorey

Ben Stokes questioned his team’s character following England’s eight wicket defeat at the Gabba. The captain lamented the visitors’ propensity to lose “moments in the game where the heat is on and the pressure is really, really cooking” he said, as quoted by The Guardian.

Stokes soon made a stunning revelation, saying an Australian tour is not for weak men. He then followed up by saying he still has belief in this group that they can turn things around in the series.

“Over and over again, Australia have managed to get through those periods and outdo us,” Stokes said. “I know it’s not a skill thing, because they’re all incredibly talented players. But if you can’t put it down to skill then you start to wonder, what is it? Do we need to start thinking about what mentality we’re taking into those pressure moments?

“Because when we’re on top we’re great, but when the game is neck and neck we’re not coming out on top on enough occasions to be able to challenge Australia. There is a saying that we have said a lot here, that Australia is not for weak men. A dressing room that I am captain of isn’t a place for weak men either.”

Ben Stokes’ captaincy in the spotlight after Gabba loss

Stokes combined for 95 runs off 220 balls with Will Jacks on day four. The England captain fought hard for his 152-ball 50, and while he received praise from some corners for his effort, not everybody was impressed.

Sam Perry from The Grade Cricketer Podcast made an eye opening point regarding Stokes’ leadership in the Gabba Test.

“I’ve noticed since Stokes made these comments [about weak men], a lot of people seem to be taking the view… [of] actually accepting what Stokes is saying hook, line and sinker which is this effort to separate him and his lion-heartedness, strength and will from his teammates who lack that, in their moment of need.

“Now how does their supposed weakness manifest? It manifests with these moments of driving on the up to good deliveries. It manifests in bowling cat pi– sh– at the armpit when the deck is good for Australia. It manifests in dropped catches largely owing to no volume of training.

“Now who’s been the architect of that style of play? It’s the captain and the coach. I find it remarkable that Stokes gets to play one innings (50 off 152 balls) when the game’s dead where he blocks the sh– out of it for a little while and doesn’t even look that good doing it and everyone is going ‘captain, leader, legend, showing the way.'”

Perry then went in to bat for Stokes’ teammates, correctly stating they have been backed to play this way in the Bazball era. The likes of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook have the license to play their shots. In the case of Crawley and Pope, this England regime has persisted with the duo despite middling records after 60+ Tests each.

“Then he gets off the field and essentially says ‘the rest of them are weak.’ And everyone’s like ‘yeah, that’s right, at least he’s showing some emotion,'” Perry continued.

“If I’m these guys, I’d be like ‘hang on, this is how you’ve asked me to play for ages.’ All of the rhetoric now is about fight and will and spirit. It’s way more pragmatic than that. This is a failure of strategy and tactics. This is four years of a way of approaching the game that was never going to work here [in Australia].

“And the moment it falls over, Stokes goes ‘nah, I’m digging in.’ Hang on, any danger of telling us to do that? Why does he [Stokes] get to change and get all the flowers for being lion-hearted when he has been the architect of running towards the danger, of doubling down?

“They talk about applying pressure, absorbing pressure. They don’t absorb sh– these guys. They’re not interested in that. It’s failed here. It’s failing badly.”

It will be fascinating to see whether England change their approach for the Adelaide Test which begins on December 17. There is the possibility of personnel changes in what is now a must-win Test for Stokes’ team if they are to keep their very slim hopes of regaining the Ashes alive.

You can watch Sam Perry’s take on the December 9 episode of The Grade Cricketer Podcast from 13:48.