SKIPPER STOKES REFLECTS ON ENGLAND'S INCREDIBLE BOXING DAY VICTORY
As the visitors finally ended a 15-year wait for a Test victory on Australian soil, captain Ben Stokes called England's Boxing Day Test victory at the MCG a "pretty special feeling."
The England captain acknowledged that the last moments were uncomfortable after chasing down a difficult fourth-innings target in difficult circumstances.
“Yeah, amazing feeling. 10 runs have never felt so far away when I got out. I didn't want to come back into the dressing room and watch the TV on the delay. So yeah, awesome feeling. Been on a couple of tours before where it has not gone too well, so to end up on the right side of the result after a long period of time is a pretty special feeling.”
When the entire team came out of the dressing room to spend the last moments together—a release that had been years in the making—the moment's significance was highlighted.
When all the males emerged from the dressing room and gave each other a quick hug at the conclusion, we thought, "Finally, finally, we've won one." "Yeah, nice feeling," he remarked.
England committed to a proactive approach in the fourth innings on a surface that provided something for the bowlers throughout, a move Stokes believed was crucial against Australia's unrelenting onslaught.
"Going out there and trying to put pressure on from ball one was the only way to go about chasing that, that tally down."
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the England openers, were also commended by Stokes, who described their 51-run partnership as a "huge reason" for the successful chase.
"We were able to rotate (the strike) once Zak and Ben began to work together and the pitch began to rebound. It wasn't just the boundaries that were allowing us to take that total down. It was the ones and twos and the running between the wickets,” he explained.
Brydon Carse's promotion to No. 3, which was intended to thwart the flow of play against the new ball, demonstrated England's tactical adaptability. "With a newer ball, that wicket was very challenging. We decided to send a bat-talented person. In a relatively tiny run pursuit, even a quick 20–30 is huge."
Stokes thought the move helped Jacob Bethell, whose calm knock of 40 in 26 balls stood out under pressure, even though it didn't quite work. "I was really impressed with how he built that innings."
Stokes emphasised Bethell's courage, specifically his readiness to throw off bowlers' rhythm by hitting Scott Boland over the covers right after the tea break. "You must play the game with daring and bravery, especially on a wicket like that. You don't undervalue the effect that a particular shot or intent has on a bowler."