Ben Stokes Seemingly Blames Toss For England’s Ashes Woes, Gets Trolled

Under Ben Stokes' leadership, England faces a formidable challenge to regain momentum and salvage pride during the final two Tests of the series.

Ben Stokes Seemingly Blames Toss For England’s Ashes Woes, Gets Trolled

Ben Stokes blamed luck as one of the reasons behind his team's Ashes defeat. (Image via Yahoo)

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Following their defeat in the third Ashes Test on Sunday, England captain Ben Stokes drew widespread criticism for attributing the loss to the luck of the toss. This unconventional excuse for England’s poor performance sparked a wave of criticism from fans across social media. 

England lost the first Test in Perth by eight wickets, with the match being a closely contested one. The visitors were dismissed for just 172 runs in their first innings, but made a stunning comeback by bowling out the home side for just 132 runs. While England felt that the 205-target would be enough for them to defend, Travis Head had different plans, as he hit 123 runs off 83 balls to take Australia over the line. 

The second Test in Brisbane was, however, dominated by the Australian batting order, with five different players scoring half-centuries in the first innings. The home side won by eight wickets. With the third Test in Adelaide being a crucial one for the visitors, they once again slumped to a poor 82-run defeat. It essentially means that Australia has now secured the five-match Test series, as they currently lead 3-0.

Among the biggest talking points for the match, the failure of England’s much-popular ‘Baz-Ball’ strategy has taken center-stage. The Three Lions have failed to score runs in the way they usually do in Test matches at home, aggressively. Harry Brook has struggled, scoring 173 runs in six innings at a poor average of 28.83 so far, while doubts have emerged over Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope‘s inclusion in the XI. 

Furthermore, Ben Stokes’ comment about the reason behind the team’s poor display drew criticism. Speaking after the Adelaide Test defeat, the 34-year-old all-rounder stated that toss results also influenced the outcome.

In a confusing exchange with reporters, Stokes suggested his only tactical regret was calling ‘tails’ instead of ‘heads’ in the first two games, both of which England actually won, while lamenting his inability to win the toss in the third match. 

(On if there’s anything he would’ve done differently over the first three matches) Called heads first two (coin tosses) and won this one.

Nonetheless, England’s only remaining aim being to avoid a 5-0 Ashes white-wash. The fourth ‘Boxing Day’ Test will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting December 26, while the final Test will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, from January 4 to 8. 

Fans slam Ben Stokes for ‘making excuses’ following England’s 0-3 Ashes defeat to Australia

England has been misfiring throughout the 2025-26 Ashes, with Ben Stokes’ recent explanation for the team’s successive defeats drawing backlash. Stokes oddly suggested that he wished he had not won the first two tosses, and had only won the third one. 

Fans slam Ben Stokes
Fans and social media users slam Ben Stokes for his excuses after Ashes defeat. (via X)

Many took to social media to share their reactions, with some of them suggesting that the Three Lions have adhered to a new cricketing strategy beyond ‘Baz-Ball’. One fan pointed to several fallacies within the England side during the Adelaide defeat, including Harry Brook’s misfiring sweeps. Some fans attributed the team’s poor performance to the England skipper and head coach Brendon McCullum.

Many fans demanded for the former New Zealand icon’s removal from the position of head coach at the end of the Ashes, given the team’s failures. One fan hilariously exclaimed that the Three Lions’ strategy should be renamed from ‘Baz-Ball’ to ‘Excuse-Ball’. A few fans also stated that England are currently struggling due to the lack of bowlers of James Anderson and Stuart Broad’s caliber. 

During the post-match press conference, Ben Stokes insisted that England would not surrender despite the series loss. He also expressed significant frustration that the 2025–26 Ashes had effectively been decided so early, lamenting how quickly the contest for the urn had concluded.

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