England 'definitely' responded to my criticism in third Ashes Test but execution 'hasn't been anywhere near good enough' - Ben Stokes
Updated 21/12/2025 at 06:55 GMT
England's 2025/26 Ashes fate was sealed in the early hours of Sunday morning, as Australia took the tourists' four remaining wickets on day five of the third Test in Adelaide to move 3-0 ahead in the series and retain the urn. Although England captain Ben Stokes was disappointed with England's execution and the ultimate outcome, he was pleased to see improvement ahead of the remaining Tests.
Highlights: Australia wrap up Ashes series win as England's record chase falters
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Ben Stokes admitted that England were not "anywhere near good enough" in parts during the third NRMA Insurance men's Ashes Test against Australia, but have "definitely" made progress since his damning comments last week.
Stokes said England were "not able to stand up to the pressure" after a second Test defeat in Brisbane, which saw them fall 2-0 behind in the series.
Needing to win the third Test in Adelaide to stay alive and continue their push for a first Ashes triumph Down Under since 2010/11, England chased a target of 435 runs but ultimately came up short in their efforts, losing by 82 runs as the hosts retained the urn.
Although the England skipper recognised that his side were not able to match Australia's execution, he was pleased with the improvement his team exhibited.
"The dream we came here with is now over, which is incredibly disappointing. Everyone’s obviously hurting and quite emotional about it," Stokes said.
"We’ve not been consistent or relentless enough, and that’s not a word I like to use. Our execution just hasn’t been anywhere near good enough to be able to come to Australia and compete with these guys.
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'Execution hasn't been anywhere near good enough' - Stokes
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"At the moment, the scoreline reflects that, but we’ve got two more games and so much to play for. We aren’t just going to fall over and let this series play out, we’re going to leave everything out on the field, which we do.
"We’ve got people coming out to come and watch these last two games, we’ve got so much more to play for, and we’re going to give absolutely everything for these two games."
Those final two Tests, in Melbourne and Sydney, will be
He added: "There were obviously going to be challenges presented to us, and we dealt with them pretty well in passages, and losing those three wickets at the back end of yesterday set us back a bit.
"All that stuff from last week that I said I wanted to see a bit more from the team, I can definitely say I’ve seen that this week.
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England 'a great team when ahead, not when game is on the line' - Stokes
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"Some of the guys lower down the order stuck in and showed that courage and fight and responsibility that I was asking for.
"Yes, we’ve been on the wrong side of a result, but I think we can take a lot from this game into the remaining two games and I think we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and the team as well."
Stokes lamented that the "execution" was the biggest difference between England and Australia, saying their opponents played at a "much higher level" in all aspects.
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However, ahead of Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, Stokes insisted that there are a lot of positives for England to take from the third Test defeat.
"Australia have just been able to execute things on a much more consistent basis than us, both with the ball, with the bat, and in the field," he said.
"This game of cricket, it’s based on how you bowl, how you bat and how you field. They’ve been able to outdo us on a much higher level.
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Smith gets overexcited, key wicket falls shortly after half-century
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"We showed it in passages in these first three games, and again, this week thought we did incredibly well to take it where we did in the fourth innings, thought we were on for another heist this morning when Jamie [Smith] and Will [Jacks] were playing so well.
"But look, we can’t do what we came here to do, but there’s some good stuff to take out of this game."
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Watch every ball of the Ashes live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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