Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine has strongly criticized England Test captain Ben Stokes for his remarks in the Ashes 2023 documentary. Paine reminded the England team that they are an “average” Test side and need to accept that reality. In the documentary released by the ECB, Stokes claimed that his Test team would be remembered by everyone who had the privilege of watching them play.
Ben Stokes with Sachin Tendulkar at Wimbledon. 😄🌟 pic.twitter.com/eOkaLlWZ3J
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Paine found Stokes’s statement bizarre and inappropriate, considering the series ended in a 2-2 draw, with Australia retaining the urn. Under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England is currently ranked ninth in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle and failed to qualify for the final in the previous edition of the WTC.
Tim Paine Slams Ben Stokes For Ashes Documentary Comments
“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 and 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.
The ECB had shared a clip of Stokes’s speech in the dressing room before the 5th Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester.
“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.”
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