England might already have lost the series to Australia and relinquished the Ashes in a very tame fashion after going down 3-0, but with a fighting victory to earn a win inside two days at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, they have ended a 14-year winless duck down under.
For this young England team, it is the culmination of a period that has seen plenty of talk around Bazball and whether it could compete in Australia. It might be a bigger occasion for Joe Root and Ben Stokes, two players who are amongst the veterans of the England unit, but had to wait for the majority of their careers to end up on the winning side of an Ashes Test match in Australia.
For captain Ben Stokes, this marked his 13th Test in Australia, and his first victory. Particularly as captain to win for the first time since 2011, he was happy to take the moment after the adversity the team had faced on and off the field.
“Really good feeling. Been a tough tour up till now,” said Stokes in the post-match presentation. “Over the moon we could get on the right side of the result. Not just this tour, but everything before us. To be stood here now and be part of a team that won a game in Australia.”
‘Constant noise, constant chants’
Stokes also took a moment to shout out the travelling England fans and the Barmy Army fan-group, who have been present at each of the matches and supported the team in voice despite disappointing results.
“I hope it means a lot [to fans], we play for so many things, whenever the Barmy Army come to support us it’s very special,” said the English skipper. “Just constant noise, constant chants. The guys in the middle hear it, feel it, and know it. Means a hell of a lot to us, but special for those guys there.”
For Stokes, it was also a proud moment given the controversy and toxicity that surrounded the English team after they lost in Adelaide and had to deal with the threat of another whitewash. Given the complaints surrounding the team’s trip to Noosa in Queensland and several other factors such as drinking on nights out, this was a sign of the team’s togetherness to the captain.
“Proud of the way we handled it after the couple of the days leading up to the Test match, what we had thrown our way,” said Stokes. “Made sure we stayed focused on coming here and beating a very good Australian team. Very proud captain here for the guys in the dressing room.”
‘Showed bravery with the bat…’
For Joe Root, this series marks not only his first century in Australia, but also the first time he has won a Test in 18 attempts – a staggering figure for a player of his quality. It hasn’t been the ideal series for Root, who has had his number called by a variety of Australian bowlers, but this nevertheless sits as a poignant moment for him.
“To lose the series is disappointing, but we showed character, had a lot thrown at this team, and we showed bravery with the bat,” said Root. “Never expected it to be easy, we know how good Australia are in their own conditions. Hopefully we can improve on this next week.”
England’s key hope will be to save some dignity from this series with another win at the New Year’s Test in Sydney, which will allow them to have some building blocks moving forward in a stressful time for the team. It’s not much, but this sole win must be a start.
