England captain Ben Stokes said he “could not be prouder” of his team after they rallied from a trying week to win an astonishing two-day Test at the MCG and claim a first victory in Australia since January 2011.
England headed to Melbourne 3-0 down and with the Ashes series lost inside 11 days, and then had to field accusations of a drinking culture following their break in Noosa between the second and third Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide respectively.
A social media video emerged seemingly showing batter Ben Duckett drunk.
Ben Duckett scored a breezy 34 from 26 balls at the start of England’s second innings after a trying week
However, Stokes was delighted with the way his side focused on the job at hand with a four-wicket victory in the fourth Test ending any chance of a 5-0 whitewash.
Speaking after 36 wickets fell in 142 overs on a fruity pitch and England snapped an 18-Test winless streak Down Under, the skipper told BBC’s Test Match Special: “On the back of everything we had to deal with in this game, I couldn’t be prouder as a captain of the way we held firm as a group and as individuals as well.
“It is a very proud moment knowing how tough this tour has been. To get that win in over a long period of time we have been waiting for it is pretty pleasing.”
“You get tested as leaders within sporting teams and organisations in different ways and that was a test of character, a test of qualities of leadership.
Stokes said England finally delivered ‘when the moment mattered’
“The way we went about it, not only in public, in terms of all the media and all that sort of stuff but behind the scenes as well… it was important that everyone’s focus was on the cricket.
“It would have been so easy to put our focus and attention on all that stuff outside the dressing room.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is what we need to do out there. I am very, very proud of the group and proud of certain individuals.”
“When the pressure was on and the moment mattered, we were able to stand up and deliver something good.
“If I’m honest, that is what we have not been able to do so far in the series, so I’m ecstatic about the result that we managed to get here.”
‘Special feeling’ – Ashes win in Australia at last for Stokes and Root
The victory was Stokes’ first in 14 attempts in Australia and Joe Root’s 18th, with the captain adding: “When all the boys came out of the dressing room, we had a little hug and just said, ‘finally we’ve won one’.
I was very pleased for Stokes. It was a difficult build-up for him and I was very impressed with how he dealt with it. He basically wrapped his arms around the team and said ,‘I give them my full backing no matter what’. There are always things to play for even when you have lost a series and his team showed that they were committed to playing for him.
Sky Sports Cricket’s Michael Atherton
“Me and Joe have been here a few times and been on the wrong end of the result a few times, so to end up on the right side after a long period of time is a pretty special feeling.
“I’m sure there might be a few words spoken about it. We know Australia is a very hard place to win a game, let alone a series.
“It will be another four years until we come back here, but there won’t be a narrative that we haven’t won a game – that goes back to zero now.”
England fans were able to witness a rare moment of success on the tour following the eight-wicket drubbings in Perth and Brisbane and 82-run reverse in Adelaide.
Stokes added at the presentation: “I hope it means a lot to the fans. The support we constantly get is very special.
“There is constant noise and the lads hear it, know it and feel it. This means a hell of a lot to us as players and I’m sure the fans will have some sore heads in the morning.”
England beat Australia inside two days of an astonishing Melbourne Test
Stokes lauds England ‘bravery’ as Bethell ‘shows his class’
England were set 175 for victory in the fourth innings after rolling Australia for 132 earlier on day two and reached that target in 32.2 overs, rattling along at a run-rate of 5.50.
Duckett made 34 off 26 balls as he and opening partner Zak Crawley (37 off 48) stitched a stand of 51 from 42 deliveries, while Jacob Bethell top-scored with 40 from 46 balls in just his second Ashes innings, after being dismissed for one on the first day.
Bethell had replaced Ollie Pope in the England side at the MCG.
Jacob Bethell hit 40 off 46 balls on the second and final day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG
Stokes said: “The cricket was short and sharp. We looked to take the positive approach in a game heavily suited to the bowlers and the way we went about chasing 175 was the right way.
“You can’t let good bowlers land it on a consistent length and the way we combatted that was brilliant. We showed bravery, it was courageous. The partnerships they were able to build were exceptional.”
“Beth (Jacob Bethell) played a crucial knock in tricky conditions and showed the class we see in him to go like that.”
England will now aim to win the final Test in Sydney from January 4 and limit the damage to a 3-2 series defeat, with Stokes telling the BBC: “We still have one more to go and the focus has not moved away from that. We want to get results in our way.
“We’re not going to let the feeling of this victory flow on further than it needs to.”
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