England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, has made a bold claim about his team’s performance during the 2023 Ashes series. He stated that his team “will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket.” This statement was featured in a documentary about the 2023 Ashes series released by the ECB.

The documentary has sparked conversations, especially regarding the infamous Jonny Bairstow stumping incident. Joe Root admitted that the Australian actions were fair and that he might have done the same in their situation.

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A new clip from the fourth Test in Manchester, which was rained out and allowed Australia to retain the urn, shows Stokes motivating his team.

What did Ben Stokes say?

In the Old Trafford dressing room, Stokes addressed his team:

Everything we’ve done up until now isn’t going to stop because we haven’t managed to win the urn back. The reward for our work isn’t what we get but what we become. We’ve become a sports team that will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket.

I know it’s going to hurt that we go into the next game not being able to get the urn back. But what we have done is something a lot bigger than any Ashes trophy could ever signify for this team – be the team that everybody will always remember.

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How has England performed in the Ashes against Australia in recent times?

England has not won an Ashes series since 2015 and has not won an Ashes Test match in Australia for 15 years. Under Stokes’ leadership, the English Test side has won four of its 11 Tests played since the start of 2023.

In contrast, Australia won the ICC World Test Championship, retained the Ashes in England, and won the World Cup during the same period.