Joy over MCG win, but concerns on pitch persist: Ben Stokes

Melbourne: England captain Ben Stokes said on Saturday his side would be proud to end a 14-year wait for an Ashes victory on Australian soil, but admitted conditions were "not ideal" for them, as the pitch was too helpful for the bowlers and the series was already out of hand after three successive defeats in the opening 11 days.
Both Stokes and his former captain Joe Root were part of the 2013-14 England team that arrived in Australia after winning three consecutive Ashes series, but suffered a 5-0 defeat. The defeat followed England's long poor run in Australia, which included 16 losses and two draws, ending with an 82-run defeat in Adelaide last week.

However, England now won in just two days at the MCG, on a pitch where neither batsman could score a half-century. England were set a target of 175 runs to win, which was the highest score of the match. After being bowled out for 110 in the first innings, they lost a lead of 42 runs, but despite this, England batted at their usual pace and achieved the target in just 32.2 overs. Jacob Bethel (40 runs), Zach Crawley (37 runs) and Ben Duckett (34 runs) contributed to this success.

Speaking to TNT after the match, Stokes said: "Yes, we won, but to be honest, it's not the situation you want. The conditions were in favor of a certain style of play, which is not right, and the match was over in less than two days. But when you put all that aside, you have a difficult situation, and then you have to decide what is the best way to maximize your chances of success. Chasing 170 runs is always difficult. It happens, but I thought the way we played the game from the start was exactly how we should have done it."
Before the match, Stokes had promised to support his under-pressure team, especially Duckett, so that the players could play with the freedom that the team has long embraced. He was proud that his message got across to the players in the right way.
"There are a lot of things you have to deal with in the last few days. For me, the most important thing on the first day was to understand that there will be 94,000 fans at the MCG and there will be a lot of noise, so it was important to make sure how each player handled their body language and enthusiasm," he said.

Stokes also thanked the English fans who made the long journey to Australia for the series. He said: "We feel lucky to be a part of a match like this on Boxing Day. It's rare in South Africa, but playing in front of 95,000 fans at the MCG on Boxing Day is really special."
He added that the noise was no different from the first two matches, which is a testament to how strong England's fan base is.
"They've stood by us through the good and the bad. They've been fantastic, and sat in the stadium for hours in the sun today, so I hope some of them wake up with a headache tomorrow. We're very happy and excited to be on the right side of the result."
In conclusion, Stokes said, "When this match started, we knew what our target was. We now have two matches left and we want to go from here with two good results. So our focus will not change even when we go to Sydney. We will enter the field with the same mindset and enthusiasm to defeat Australia. There is no such thing as a 'dead rubber' when you represent your country."