Former England fast bowler cautions media against providing the captain with any added motivation ahead of the Ashes
Steven Finn believes the Australian media’s decision to “provoke” England captain Ben Stokes could backfire at the Ashes.
Stokes’ arrival in Perth this week was met with front-page jibes from the West Australian newspaper, which branded him “Cocky Captain Complainer” and dubbed his team’s methods as “dopey”.
It continues a long-running tradition of the local press taking aim at England’s sides, with the now-retired Stuart Broad a favourite target of previous trips, but Finn thinks such slings and arrows will only bring out the best in the combative Stokes.
Finn, who was part of England’s last success Down Under in 2010/11 and has written a new book ‘The Ashes Files’ on his battles against the old enemy, told the PA news agency: “I think Ben Stokes thrives when he has a point to prove.
“You know 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.
“I saw him a couple of weeks ago and you could see behind the eyes that he sees the significance of this tour. This leadership won’t be timid or meek.
“You have to be wary because the Australian press want 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.”
Inspired by his own victorious trip 15 years ago, Finn even believes England are capable of redirecting the public heat back towards the hosts if they enjoy early successes.
“When I first went out there I was taken aback by just how much it was ‘you against us’. Getting off the plane it was TV cameras in your face, paparazzi outside the hotel, taxi drivers saying ‘you’re useless, you’re going to get hammered’.
“But Australians respect people who win. If you puff your chest out like we did on 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 (head coach) Brendon McCullum could do.”
Finn’s new memoir reflects his personal anguish at being omitted from that Boxing Day Test, despite taking 14 wickets in the first three matches – a decision he has broadly made peace with in retirement.
Whether the current regime would make the same call, given their attraction to risk and focus on attacking cricket, is open to debate.
“You beat yourself up about it and there’s still a sense of missed opportunity, but it was the right decision,” he said.
“Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss (then coach and captain) were about controlling the game and controlling the scoreboard. It was about marginal gains throughout the Test match, which suited the players we had and helped us win a lot.
“But Stokesy and Brendon like to take the guard rails off, they want you to go out there with no inhibitions and that allows people to express themselves and be their true selves.
“Ashes series, an away Ashes series in particular, can be career-defining moments and even life-defining moments. I look at some of the characters we’ve got in the side and there’s a real sense of excitement and opportunity.”
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: November 21-25, Perth Stadium, 1.30pm AEDT
Second Test: December 4-8, The Gabba, Brisbane (D/N), 3.30pm AEDT
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 11am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT
Australia squad: (First Test only): Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
