Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine has come down hard on Ben Stokes’ remarks during Ashes 2023 that his Test side will ‘forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play’.
The England Test captain’s statement was shown in an ECB documentary on the Ashes 2023 series, where England lost the chance to square the five-match series before the final Test at the Oval. A heavy downpour in Old Trafford hampered England’s chance of levelling Australia at 2-2 after losing the first two Tests.
“Everything we’ve done up until now isn’t going to stop because we haven’t managed to win the urn back,” Stokes told his teammates in the dressing room after the disappointment of not finding an outright result in Manchester.
“The reward for our work isn’t what we get, but what we become.
“And what we have managed to do is, we’ve managed to become a sports team that will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket.”
The series eventually ended 2-2 at the Oval as Australia retained the urn. Paine found Stokes’ comments to be out of place after England failed to win at home but related the positive message to the ‘Bazball’ philosophy under head coach Brendon McCullum.
England failed to make the World Test Championship final in the previous cycle and are currently at the bottom of the nine-team championship in the third edition.
Said this to the team who had watched it rain for 2 days when we had our foot on your throats, just tried to cheer up the disappointment tbh,but anyways rent free and all that 🫡 https://t.co/ULRZ4WITOq
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 3, 2024
“I think it was taken slightly out of context because he was talking in a changing room and it was a bigger speech, so I will say that,” Paine told on SEN Tassie Breakfast.
“However, it’s just this continued belief that they’re completely changing the game and they’re doing this amazing stuff and everyone’s going to remember it … they’re not.
“You’re coming dead last in the World Test Championship. You’re not going to be a team that everyone remembers watching and you’re not doing anything outrageously good that we haven’t seen before.
“You’re an average cricket team. (Actually) you’re at the moment, a below-average cricket team and I think they need to get their head around that a little bit,” Paine remarked.
While Australian media outlet Fox Sports took a jibe at Stokes’ remarks on social media, the Englishman responded: “Said this to the team who had watched it rain for 2 days when we had our foot on your throats, just tried to cheer up the disappointment,but anyways rent free and all that.”
Paine said he found the social media exchange from Stokes to be absurd as he was only reaching out to a broadcaster and not the Australian side.
Paine found Stokes’ retort to Fox Cricket as bizarre as he was responding to a TV broadcaster, not the Australian cricket team.
“You’re talking to a TV production. I found it quite strange that he went back at them because it would be like me going back at Sky Sports. It’s just strange. They’re living in a bit of a weird, strange world over there at the moment. Anyway, each to their own as they say,” Paine added.
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