England captain Ben Stokes admitted that the team needs to be "smarter" after a crushing 4-1 Ashes series defeat to Australia. The fifth and final test at the Adelaide Oval was won by the Australians, with England's hopes of mounting a comeback dashed.
Stokes acknowledged that his team had been outsmarted by the Aussies, who implemented an effective plan to dismiss them for just 332 runs. Stokes' own innings ended on 82 not out as he fought valiantly alongside James Anderson and Alex Lees in a late surge.
"We need to be smarter," Stokes said during the post-match interview. "We can't be beaten by one innings, or two, we have to find a way to win back-to-back times."
The England captain also acknowledged that his team had underestimated their opponents, leading to a lack of cohesion and strategy throughout the series.
"We didn't play as well as we thought we would," Stokes said. "We should've been more confident. We can't afford to have doubts. We need to be brave and take it on our own terms."
Australia's victory was sealed by their top order, with Steve Smith and David Warner combining for a 134-run partnership that set the tone for the rest of the match.
"We played some fantastic cricket," Smith said in praise of his teammates. "We're very happy with how we performed."
The series win marks Australia's seventh Ashes victory since 1993 and will go down as one of their greatest triumphs over England.
Stokes acknowledged that his team had been outsmarted by the Aussies, who implemented an effective plan to dismiss them for just 332 runs. Stokes' own innings ended on 82 not out as he fought valiantly alongside James Anderson and Alex Lees in a late surge.
"We need to be smarter," Stokes said during the post-match interview. "We can't be beaten by one innings, or two, we have to find a way to win back-to-back times."
The England captain also acknowledged that his team had underestimated their opponents, leading to a lack of cohesion and strategy throughout the series.
"We didn't play as well as we thought we would," Stokes said. "We should've been more confident. We can't afford to have doubts. We need to be brave and take it on our own terms."
Australia's victory was sealed by their top order, with Steve Smith and David Warner combining for a 134-run partnership that set the tone for the rest of the match.
"We played some fantastic cricket," Smith said in praise of his teammates. "We're very happy with how we performed."
The series win marks Australia's seventh Ashes victory since 1993 and will go down as one of their greatest triumphs over England.
so i think this is a great opportunity for england to regroup and come back stronger, they can learn from their mistakes and work on being more strategic and confident in their gameplay 
the aussies played some amazing cricket but it's not like england was completely out of luck they just had a bad patch, every series has ups and downs right? 
. I mean, you can't just chalk it up to bad luck or a few mistakes – it's about being outsmarted by the opposition, and it sounds like Australia really figured them out this time 
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. I mean, Ben Stokes is right on the money – they need to be smarter in terms of strategy and cohesion 
. And yeah, maybe they did underestimate their opponents, but that's something you learn from and move on from 
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Can't wait to see how they'll regroup and rebuild 
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I mean, if they were smarter, wouldn't they have won already? 
. They had these old Rolls-Royces on display that were straight out of a time machine... like, seriously, it was like stepping into the 1920s! The attention to detail, the craftsmanship – it was all so impressive. And the owner told me this one car has been restored to its original condition from back in the '20s. I mean, can you imagine owning something that's over a century old? 
That's like, on another level of coolness. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, cricket... I guess it's tough when your team isn't clicking and you get outsmarted by the other side... but hey, there's always next time!
What really gets me though is how they underestimated the Australians initially 
I get what Stokes is saying, we do need to be more confident and cohesive as a team, but it feels like England had some solid chances to win back-to-back times 
332 runs is a total thrashing and ur not gonna beat the best by just wingin it 
I mean we had some bright spots like that late surge with Alex Lees and James Anderson but overall we need to work on our strategy and cohesion, no doubt about it 
... England was so close, but just couldn't get it together 
. They need to work on being smarter 
. I mean, Australia played some amazing cricket 
️ and their plan really paid off 
. Ben Stokes is super brave 
. And can you believe Steve Smith & David Warner were on fire 
? It was an epic win for Australia 
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. Australia's got a great squad and they played some incredible cricket 
. They got outsmarted by the Aussies and it's not like they didn't see that coming. I'm surprised they even thought they could mount a comeback after losing 3-1 before that. It was always gonna be tough for them. And yeah, England did underestimate their opponents, which is just basic cricket skills 
steve smith and david warner are legit legends 
️ ben stokes is right on the money, they need to be smarter 
not underestimating their opponents and having cohesion in strategy would've made all the difference 
They gotta step up their game if they wanna beat the Aussies again. I'm still hoping for a comeback in the next series tho... 
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. I think our team needs a bit of a shake-up, maybe some fresh faces and new ideas 
. And yeah, it's gotta start with being more confident in ourselves 
. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from those guys 
it's all about confidence and strategy, and i think england was lacking in both departments during this series