Ben Stokes looks to past experience to spark Ashes fightback

Ben Stokes is hoping memories of England’s Ashes comeback in 2023 can help spark another fightback Down Under.

Wednesday’s third Test at the Adelaide Oval is the first of three must-win games for a touring side who sit 2-0 down and have no more room for error if they are to succeed in bringing the urn back home.

On paper, it looks close to being an impossible task. The only Test team to overturn such a predicament was Donald Bradman’s fabled side of 1936-37 and England are on a winless streak dating back 17 Tests and 15 years on Australian soil.

But Stokes’ first Ashes campaign as captain began in similar circumstances, with losses at Edgbaston and Lord’s, before a stirring reversal of fortunes unfolded. Victories at Headingley and The Oval saw them tie the series, while it took two days of constant rain to deny them another win Old Trafford.

“I have full backing that we can do this,” Stokes said as England wrapped up their their preparations in South Australia.

“We are able to draw on experience of being in this situation before. We know what it’s like to be in this situation and we knew we had to come here and win this amount of games anyway.

“In terms of that, it hasn’t changed from before we started. Everyone knows what needs to happen in the coming week, and after that as well. If anything, it actually makes everything look a bit more simple and a bit more clear for us.”

England have made just one tweak to the team that fell short at the Gabba last time out, recalling the attacking Nottinghamshire seamer Josh Tongue in place of the out-of-sorts Gus Atkinson.

That means an under-performing batting line-up has been retained in its entirety, despite Joe Root being the only play to average above 30 so far.

The selectors resisted the temptation to throw Jacob Bethell into the mix and Stokes insisted hopes the misfiring top seven can justify the show of faith.

“I would never put it like that – you owe me, you owe us – just go out, do what needs to be done, and back yourself to do it,” he said.

“We have backed the group over a long period of time, not only to enjoy what this game offers to you when it’s all going well.

“These are the times where you trust the players you have backed to go out there and deliver in moments like these. Those are the guys who hopefully this week can stand up for the team and also for the country as well.”

Stokes has previously called on his players to prove they are up to the mental and physical challenges of touring Australia, demanding after defeat in Brisbane that the team show some fighting spirit.

And while he is eager to see them show some steel, he is not calling for them to seek scraps for the sake of it.

“If a moment arises where we feel we need to get niggly like that, then I’m sure it’ll happen and we will have to jump on the back of those moments as a team,” he said.

“But it’s making sure the mind doesn’t go solely on creating something like that. We have to remember what the actual goal this week is, and making sure that is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The main thing out of this week is making sure we get the win.”