Ben Stokes makes epic speech to England Ashes squad after Australia retain urn

Ben Stokes admitted missing out on Ashes glory was a “tough pill to swallow” but insisted he was proud of how England have played their cricket this summer as he shared his inspiring message to his team-mates. A rain washout at Old Trafford denied England the chance to square the series at 2-2 and allowed Australia to retain the Ashes with a draw.

But although the England skipper said he was frustrated after playing the “perfect game” in Manchester, he insisted his team have done wonders for cricket this summer. “To play the cricket that we played over the first three days in a game we knew we had to win it’s obviously disappointing,” he said.

“I can’t really say we did anything wrong in this game. But we try to take the positives out of these things. I think we did literally everything that we could but sometimes… well, the weather just didn’t help us.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow knowing that’s the reason we sit here with a draw, but we’ve done everything we possibly could in the hours of play we managed to get.” Sunday’s draw robbed The Oval of the chance to stage the blockbuster showdown for the Ashes in the fifth and final Test.

But Stokes believes the legacy of the series to date has already energised the nation.  “Yes it would have elevated everything that the series has already done for Test cricket especially in England,” he said.

“But I think what we’ve managed to do up until today anyway has already done wonders for cricket in England. Next week would have been a very, very special week in the history of English cricket not just Ashes cricket but I said in the dressing room that the reward for your work isn’t what you get it’s what you become. 

“I think what we’ve managed to become is a team that people will remember. We’ve become a team that have been unbelievably well followed. As much as I would love to be an Ashes winning captain I want this team to be a legacy team.

“Regardless of what happens over the next period, this 18 months will go down in hisotry as one of the most proactive teams to go out there and represent England.” Pat Cummins admitted retaining the Ashes was not enough for his tourists and insisted they will be all out to land the first win over here since 2001 next week.

“It is like in 2019 when we retained them but came away feeling that we had just missed out on what we came over to achieve,” said the Australia captain. “We know we have a fair bit of work to do still but we want to win it outright next week.”