Ben Stokes hit out at reporter during the press conference after a salty 5-wicket loss in the 4th Test vs India

Seems like England captain Ben Stokes doesn’t want to accept the fact that his side has been all over the place in the 5-match Test series in India until now. The visitors after winning the 1st Test in Hyderabad, have now lost 3 back-to-back Tests.

Yesterday their 5-wicket loss in Ranchi was the final nail in the coffin as they endured a series loss by 3-1. When asked about the faded ruthlessness within the team, Stokes hit back at a Journalist during the press conference yesterday at the JSCA stadium.

A reporter had asked Ben Stokes to shed some light upon their approach in the Bazball system since it was brought into the England dressing room in 2022. But that ruthlessness and that style of play haven’t worked wonders on Indian soil until now as Rohit Sharma’s side has stepped over Bazball.

Stokes asks a reporter to describe ruthlessness

Stokes wasn’t having it when the reporter asked as to what happened to their ruthlessness in the 3 Test matches they lost in Vizag, Rajkot, and Ranchi. An agitated Stokes asked if there was any particular way in which ruthlessness could be shown, claiming that if they had won the match then these types of questions would not have been asked.

“Ruthlessness? What is it? How does it show itself? Everyone goes into the game with their best intentions; when it doesn’t pay off, people say we’re not ruthless when it does, they say we are.” – Ben Stokes told reporters in a press conference yesterday. 

Even during the post-match presentation party yesterday, Stokes did not want to play the blame game to any of his players. He rather appreciated the team’s efforts despite another disappointing loss. He claimed that the Ranchi Test was a good one and the best thing that happened in the series was the amount of debutants there were.

Ben Stokes also had a simple message to put forward, that he is proud of how his team played and that he is happy with everyone’s efforts.

England could have done better with the bat, feels Ben Stokes

The England captain was seemingly disappointed with the way his team batted yesterday, claiming that they could have done better. Ben Stokes tried to highlight the fact that it was their first series defeat in 2 years since Bazball was adopted. And that they will have plenty more chances going forward.

“Obviously we want to win every game we play, and win every series. This is the first we have lost, but we will be involved in plenty more series going forward.” – Stokes added. 

He also expressed his disappointment on the loss yesterday, reflecting the fact that they could have batted much more solidly than they did. Stokes also praised the Indian team for playing quality cricket and believes that this sport has always been about skill vs skill.

“It’s always disappointing being on the losing team. Looking back at when we had our chance to bat yesterday, cricket is always skill against skill.” – Ben Stokes concluded.