Former England fast bowler Steven Finn has said that the Australian media’s tactic of targeting captain Ben Stokes could backfire on them. He felt that certain players, when provoked, could perform even better than normal, and the all-rounder fell into that category.
“The West Australian” newspaper had called Stokes “Cocky Captain Complainer” after he reached the country, a fortnight before the first Ashes Test at Perth on November 21.
“Ben Stokes thrives when he has a point to prove. There are players you really don’t want to provoke because it makes them even better and even more determined. He falls into that category,” Finn, who retired from all forms of cricket in 2023, told the PA agency.
Finn, who was part of the England squad that won the Ashes in 2010-11, felt that Australian crowds tended to respect opposition teams when they performed well there, adding that they could turn against the hosts if they did not turn up and perform.
“You have to be wary because the Australian press wants to trip you up and find chinks in your armour, but if you’re sensible and respectful, I don’t see any reason you can’t embrace the challenge of playing cricket out there.”
“Australians respect people who win. If you puff your chest out like we did in 2010-11 and push back, it can turn the other way. By the time we’d bowled them out for 98 on Boxing Day, they really turned on Australia, and it almost felt like they were supporting us. That’s the challenge, and it feels like something Stokes and McCullum could do,” he said.
England have not won a Test in Australia in their last three visits to the country. Their last win in Australia came in 2011 at Sydney, when they won by an innings and 83 runs to win the series 3-1.
