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Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden hailed England skipper Ben Stokes for being a "gutsy trier" and helping England to a second innings lead and expressed that the rest of the English line-up needs to replicate him and his ability to withstand pressure.
After a Travis Head storm condemned England to a two-day defeat by chasing down 205 runs effortlessly, the pink-ball Test also ended in embarrassment for England. After scoring 334 in their first innings and Joe Root finally scoring his long-awaited maiden Test ton in Australia, it seemed the only way for England was up. But Aussies replied with a strong 511 runs in their first innings, taking a 177-run lead despite England having them down at 329/6 at one point. England crumbled to 128/6 against a lethal pink ball and despite a 96-run stand between Stokes and Will Jacks, they could score just 241 runs and got a 68-run lead. Australia chased down the 69-run target easily to go 2-0 up in the series. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hayden lauded Stokes-Jack's effort, but also noted that the under-fire England captain did not have a lot of support batting-wise in their bid to regain the prestigious Ashes urn. "At one stage, we had him talking on the audio of stump mic and going 'we have to lift our shoulders here, this problem is not going away', and he was bloody magnificent," Hayden said of Stokes. "He is a gutsy trier. But what he needs is 10 other blokes to go in the same direction." "At the moment, his team's batting unit had had its heart ripped out. Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett cannot score, and (wicketkeeper) Jamie Smith looks completely at sea. Every ball that came to him, he looked like he had cymbals in his hands." "They just need to replicate Ben Stokes. In pressure situations, I could only see one bloke towering over the rest of his team, and that was Stokes," he concluded. The third Test at Adelaide will take place from December 17 onwards. (ANI)
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