Brisbane [Australia], December 7 : England captain Ben Stokes acknowledged that England had struggled to cope with the pressure from Australia after losing the second Ashes Test by eight wickets and falling 2-0 behind in the five-match series, as per ESPNcricinfo.
Australia defeated England by eight wickets at The Gabba, taking a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Chasing just 65 for victory, Australia reached the target in 10 overs, with stand-in captain Steve Smith (23*) and Jake Weatherald (17*) finishing unbeaten.
After the match, Stokes emphasised that his team needed to demonstrate greater resilience but showed confidence in guiding them back from the edge, with a 3-2 series comeback now the only path to reclaiming the Ashes.
"Very disappointing. A lot of it comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this game, this format, when the game is on the line. In small passages, we've been able to bring the game back into some kind of control and then we've let us slip away. We've done that again here this week, and it's very, very disappointing, in particular, because of the ability of the players that we have in that dressing room," Stokes said at the post-match presentation, as quoted by ESPNcrincinfo.
Earlier, England posted 334 in their first innings, powered by Joe Root's unbeaten 138--his maiden century in Australia. Australia responded strongly with 511, gaining a 177-run lead thanks to several half-centuries, including a top score of 77 from Mitchell Starc.
England's second innings began positively but fell apart as Australia's bowlers-- Scott Boland, Michael Neser, and Starc--regularly struck, bowling them out for 241 despite a fighting 50 from Ben Stokes.
Stokes emphasised that England need to be more mentally focused, plan effectively against Australia's strategies and show greater resilience when facing challenging moments.
"We need to think a bit harder and deeper about those moments and what we're taking mentally into those, and overall show a bit more fight when it's needed. We sit there and watch what's going on in front of us, what Australia are looking to throw at us, and what plans they're trying to bowl to. And then it's up to us as players to be able to go out there with a plan and how to negate the threat," Stokes added.
Stokes said that Australia consistently outperformed England in high-pressure moments. He said England need to find a way to recover, as they are 2-0 down with three games remaining.
"To me, it just seems to be a constant theme at the moment, that when you know the game is in a pressure moment, Australia keep outdoing us. They say Australia isn't a place for weak men. We're definitely not weak, but we need to find something, because we're two-nil down now we've got three more games to go, and we need to, sort it."