‘Arrogant’ comment hits sore spot for Ben Stokes and England team after Perth smackdown: ‘You can call us rubbish but…’

Ben Stokes was happy for the team's performance to be called ‘rubbish’, but didn't like the England squad being called ‘arrogant’ in the press.

Having come into these Ashes with confidence and a lot of chatter regarding how this England team was the first one with a chance to beat Australia in Australia in 15 years, the expectations were drummed up and sent through the roof in Perth’s opening Test. The subsequent implosion that left them 1-0 down after just two days of action rocked England’s morale, and opened the doors for all the criticisms of ‘Bazball’ to hammer the team afresh.

Ben Stokes shakes hands with Travis Head during the latter's century at Perth Stadium. (REUTERS)

To make matters worse, what followed was confirmation that England’s main players wouldn’t participate in the pink-ball tour match against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra this week, before the day-night Test match at the Gabba in Brisbane. Infuriating pundits and fans at home, Ben Stokes and his team caught plenty of flak for what was perceived as ego, overconfidence, and arrogance.

With these words thrown at the English team, it seemed to hit a sensitive spot for the England captain. Speaking at the first press conference since the Perth loss, Stokes tried to convince fans back at home that the England team’s decisions weren’t coming from a place of arrogance, and was ready to admit that the team simply wasn’t good enough in the opening match.

‘I’d rather words like rubbish…'

"Look, you can call us rubbish, call us whatever you want. We didn't have the Test match that we wanted to. We were great in passages of that game… but I think arrogant might be a little bit too far,” said Stokes, trying to defend the team’s mentality and approach but admitting they didn’t perform to an acceptable standard.

"But that's okay. We'll take the rough with the smooth. I'd rather words like 'rubbish', but 'arrogant', I'm not so sure about that,” he continued.

England’s decision to head directly to the Gabba without the preparatory match they have been offered rankled feathers, and Stokes said he understands how it looks from the outside. He went on to explain that the extra travel was something the team had considered and wanted to avoid.

"We have a pink-ball match coming up in Brisbane, and we have an opportunity to play some pink-ball cricket. When you look at it just like that, I don't want to say it makes sense, but I totally understand it,” said Stokes.

"But there's obviously a lot more to it than just that. There's where it is, in Canberra, which is a different state from Brisbane. The conditions are going to be completely different to what we are going to have coming up,” the England captain explained. "You take all the factors into consideration, the pros and cons, whatever it may be. We then discuss that and decide what we think is the best preparation.”

Now with their backs to the wall and given something of a hiding in Perth, the pressure falls on Stokes and his team to respond on the field where it matters most.