Turnarounds are never easy as it takes more than a herculean effort to stop the slide and get back to winning ways. Ben Stokes’ England, who are 0-2 down in the ongoing Ashes series against Australia, face a real test of character in the third Test at Adeliade which commences tomorrow.
England lost both the Tests in the series without putting up a fight and to expect them to not only fight but also upset the Australian applecart could be asking for the moon. Such is the condition of the English team but skipper Ben Stokes has adopted a defiant posture. As is his style, Stokes believes that a turnaround is waiting at the next corner.
The ace all-rounder has his task cut out as he attempts to help his team come from behind in the next three Tests. However, the matter will be settled in the Adeliade Test as both teams will be out to prove their supremacy. England enter the Adelaide Test needing to win the remaining three matches against a buoyant Australia outfit to have any chance of regaining the famous urn.
The Aussies, on the other hand, are sitting pretty but captain Pat Cummins, who is returning to the side, has bluntly told his side not to give any room for the England team to make a comeback.
Stokes takes courage from 2023 turnaround
While their hopes look forlorn based on current output so far Down Under, Stokes believes the situation remains clear for his side with three games still to be played. The pacer takes confidence from a similar situation which they had encountered earlier. He recalled memories of their turnaround on home soil in 2023 when they faced a similar 2-0 deficit and won matches in Leeds and The Oval to leave the series tied at 2-2.
“We’re able to draw on experience 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,” he added.
Brave words indeed but it is not going to be enough. If England are to work their way back into the series, they are going to need a lift in output from every member of their squad and especially their top six batters, who have collectively struggled to find much fluidity through the opening two matches of the series.
Stokes backs his batters to come good
Joe Root, the No.1 ranked Test batter, is the only one to have scored a century for England so far this series, while Zak Crawley, Harry Brook and Stokes himself have mustered a half-century each from four innings across the two contests.
Stokes, however, believes his batters will find their groove in Adelaide, pointing to their record over a long period of time that have helped the side prosper 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,” he said.
