Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine has come down hard on Ben Stokes’ remarks during Ashes 2023 that his Test side will live ‘forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play’.
The England Test captain’s statement was shown in an ECB documentary on the Ashes 2023 series, where England lost the chance to square the five-match series before the final Test at the Oval. Thanks to the heavy rain at Old Trafford, the match was drawn and Australia retained the Ashes.
“The reward for our work isn’t what we get, but what we become. And what we have managed to do is, we’ve managed to become a sports team that will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket,” Stokes said to his players in the dressing room.
Paine found Stokes’ comments to be out of place after England failed to win at home. He also pointed out the fact that the Three Lions are currently at the bottom of the World Test Championship in the tournament’s third edition.
“It’s just this continued belief that they’re completely changing the game and they’re doing this amazing stuff and everyone’s going to remember it … they’re not. You’re coming dead last in the World Test Championship. You’re not going to be a team that everyone remembers watching and you’re not doing anything outrageously good that we haven’t seen before,” Paine remarked
“You’re an average cricket team. (Actually) you’re at the moment, a below-average cricket team and I think they need to get their head around that a little bit,” he added.
