Test captain Ben Stokes of England is hopeful that the recent success of his team, especially in the just finished Ashes, would encourage younger people to take up cricket. On Sunday (July 31), England won the fifth and final Test to tie the Ashes series at two wins each. Similarities have been made to the 2005 epic battle between these two teams, despite England’s inability to recapture the urn Ben Stokes.
Ben Stokes remarked after the Oval Test, “I think that over the last seven weeks, in particular, we’ve managed to drag a new audience towards Test cricket.” This series is exactly what the Test cricket world has been waiting for. The cricket has been incredible, with two top-tier sides going at it head-to-head. Each meeting has seemed like its own unique game. We were in charge, and then Australia took over.
Everyone who has shown up and purchased a ticket to the games has had a fantastic time. Ben Stokes As a paying spectator at a global sporting event, that’s all you can ask for. Ben Stokes I pray that we have sparked the interest of the next generation. When I go back to 2005 and what that show meant to me at the time, I hope that some young kid somewhere thinks, “That’s what I want to be doing when I’m 21 or 22,” and decides to follow in my footsteps.
Ben Stokes also acknowledged that the series’ final score accurately reflected how tightly it was contested. After losing the first two Tests, England came storming back to win the third Test at Headingley and seemed to be in control of the series in the fourth Test at Old Trafford when weather put an end to play.
“I think 2-2 is truly a fair reflection of two very, very good teams going at it over a five-match series,” he added of the series as a whole. The cricket that has been played so far has been superb. To come back from a 2-0 deficit and win the next three games to tie the series is an incredible achievement in and of itself.
I am really proud of this squad for coming here and performing as well as they did. For the last 15 months, we’ve kept up the same rhythmic style of play, and it’s been all I could have hoped for.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins said that his team ‘barely missed’ the mark they were out to hit in the United Kingdom. Australia defeated India in the final of the World Test Championship, however they were unable to complete their first away Ashes series victory since 2001. Ben Stokes However, he agreed with Stokes that the show will likely have a large audience because of the high quality on exhibit.
“I think because we’ve had really good series’, especially at home and had a lot of success, the bar gets raised a little bit,” said Cummins. Bringing the Ashes over here and keeping them there seems like a lost opportunity. I don’t believe we should lose sight of the fact that, in 2019, everyone was relieved to see the Ashes remain in England.
To come over here and put ourselves in numerous winning situations is a major accomplishment, just as it was earlier this year in India. Winning the World Test Championship and keeping the Ashes is a reasonably successful trip, even if we fell short of our original goal.
“Everyone’s been fantastic, and they can’t stop raving about the cricket and how much they enjoyed it. I have no doubt that the same is true back in Australia, where there are many avid cricket fans. Wow, that’s fantastic. Even though I was a baby in 2005, I hear a lot of people comparing this show to “that series.”
Cummins reflected over the series and realised that they might have won it if they had made better use of a few key pairings. After a stunning 140-run first wicket partnership and a subsequent 95-run stand for the fourth wicket, Australia were just 120 runs away from a victory with seven wickets in hand on Sunday and looked like the favourites to chase down the target.
Ben Stokes They felt that if they had put on another fifty runs in a couple of critical partnerships, it would have swung the game in their favor’s. There’s no denying that there are ways to improve upon the one great innings they put in [in Manchester].
Ben Stokes, But there are too many unknowns to know whether that would make a difference. We won the first two games thanks to a strong start, but we blew two match-winning opportunities at Headingley and again this week. It happens, but we were completely out of it in Birmingham and yet managed to pull off a victory. We know we’ll be happy with our decision to keep it when some time has passed, so this trip has been fantastic, but we came here today expecting to win by three goals Ben Stokes.