"Incredibly disappointing, will give our everything in last two games": Stokes after Ashes dream ends at Adelaide

Adelaide [Australia], December 21 : Following his side's Ashes series loss to Australia, England skipper Ben Stokes lamented at the fact that the dream of winning the first series Down Under since 2010/11 is over and felt "incredibly dissappointed" at the loss, having felt that his side were up for a "heist" with Jamie Smith and Will Jacks putting on a partnership before wicketkeeper-batter's brain-fade shot dented the dream shared by England team and its passionate fanbase.
Different match and same story continued for England as the Three Lions looked really threatening in patches. However, they could not capitalise on the momentum and fumbled key moments badly. England looked much more restrained and traditional in their Test batting approach after 'Bazball' failed them miserably on a bouncy Perth pitch, and later in the pink-ball Test. But the moment England and their fans dared to dream of a record-breaking 435 run chase, the trio of skipper Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc helped Australia find a way. While there are two more Tests to go and England still has a chance to end their winless streak in Tests at Australia since 2010/11, they do not have the prestigious Ashes urn to play for anymore. All they have is their English pride and a badge on their chest to play for.
Speaking about the team's loss in the post-match presentation, Stokes said it was "hurting everyone, and they are all emotional about it," and that England missed the mark on "constant execution".
"The dream that we came here with is now over, which is obviously incredibly disappointing. Everyone's hurting and quite emotional about it. We've got two more games to go, and that is where the focus needs to switch to now. We came here with a goal in mind, and we have not been able to achieve that. It hurts, and it sucks, but we are not going to stop. (Difference between the two teams) Just the constant execution, Australia have been able to execute things on a much more consistent basis than us with the ball, with the bat, and in the field. This game of cricket is based on how you bat, how you bowl, and how you field, and they have been able to outdo us on a much higher level. We have shown it in passages across these first three games, and again this week, we did incredibly well to take it to where we did in this fourth innings. I thought we were on for another heist this morning when Jamie and Will were playing so well, but we cannot do what we came here to do," he said.
Stokes said that there was "some good stuff to take out of the match", such as bowling out Australia for under-par score in the first innings and fighting well with the ball during their second innings, taking the last six wickets really quickly, bundling out Aussies to 349 from a solid position of 311/4.
"We were confident we had a very good chance of chasing it down because we knew how good the wicket was. There were always going to be challenges that were presented to us, and we dealt with them pretty well in passages. Losing those three wickets at the back end of the day yesterday set us back a bit. All the stuff from last week, around the stuff that I wanted to see a bit more of from this team, I can definitely say I have seen that this week. Some of the guys lower down the order stuck in and showed that courage, fight, and responsibility that I was asking for," he added.
Stokes admitted that these three losses have given England an excellent learning experience about themselves as a team, that they have not been "consistent and relentless enough".
But we have got two more games. We've got so much to play for, we are not going to fall over and just let this series play out. We are going to leave absolutely everything out there in the field. We have got people coming over here to come and watch these last two games, we have got so much more to play for. We are going to give absolutely everything for these last two games," he concluded.
After Australia won the toss, they opted to bat first. But the relentless pace of Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse put them in a soup at 94/4. It was Usman Khawaja's veteran instincts and signature cuts and sweeps during his 126-ball 82, consisting of 10 fours, which slowly brought back the momentum to the Aussies, with Alex Carey also firing at the other end. Carey brought up his maiden Ashes ton, scoring 106 in 143 balls, with eight fours and a six. A half-century run stand between Mitchell Starc (54 in 75 balls, with eight fours) and Scott Boland (14*) troubled England just when they wanted to bundle Aussies for below 300. Aussies scored 371 in 91.2 overs.
Archer (5/53) delivered a brilliant fifer for England, with Josh Tongue and Will Jacks getting a couple each.
Later, Nathan Lyon (2/70) and skipper Pat Cummins (3/70) kept England away from forming big partnerships, reducing them to 168/8 by getting wickets just when England looked to find an escape. However, a century stand between skipper Ben Stokes (83 in 198 balls, with eight fours) and a resolute Archer (51 in 105 balls, with five fours and a six) powered England to 286, with their trail at 85 runs. Boland played a significant role in wiping out the tail-end with three wickets.
In their second innings, England had the upper hand over Australia at one point, with Australia at 149/4. However, hometown heroes Travis Head (170 in 219 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes) and Carey (72 in 128 balls, with six fours) revelled amid loud cheers from the crowd, outbattling England one delivery at a time. While England was better with the ball on day four and wiped them out for 349 runs, a record run-chase of 435 runs awaited England.
Tongue (4/80) and Carse (3/80) were amongst the top bowlers for England.
England's run chase was one featuring promise and brain fades in equal measure. After a first ball boundary, Ben Duckett (4) lost his wicket while Ollie Pope (17) continued to find slip fielders. With England reduced to 31/2, Joe Root (39 in 63 balls, with five fours) and Harry Brook put on a 78-run stand, giving their team some normalcy. Root continued to be a "nicking machine", falling to Cummins for the second time in the match and for the 13th time overall in Tests.
Crawley, who looked uncharacteristically patient, carried England's hopes forward with Brook untill a brain-fade reverse sweep from Brook ended his stay at 56 balls and triggered a mini-collapse from 177/3 to 194/6. Jamie Smith (60 in 83 balls, with seven fours) and Will Jacks put on a 91-run stand, making England fans believe and dare to dream untill the adrenaline of counter-attacking Starc got the best of Jamie. Jacks (47 in 137 balls, with three fours) put on a half-century stand with Carse (39* in 64 balls, with four boundaries and a six) to keep England's heart beating, but after Jacks was gone, there was no coming back as Australia bundled out England for 352 runs.
Cummins (3/48), Starc (3/62) and Lyon (3/77) shone with the ball, denying England another shot at an Ashes series win in Australia since 2010/11 and keeping them winless in Aussie land since that glorious moment. Australia took an unassailable 3-0 lead and Carey was given the 'Player of the Match' honours for his knocks of 106 and 72.