England's Ben Stokes on their clash with old rivals Australia at ICC Cricket World Cup
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00:00 Obviously the results haven't been what you wanted, but playing Australia, is that something
00:09 that almost exists in its own bubble and provides its own goal and its own motivation?
00:16 Yeah, I think England and Australia is, in any sport, whenever the two nations come together
00:22 and play against each other, it's always a big occasion.
00:26 Regardless of if that's in a World Cup or bilateral series or whatever it may be, you're
00:31 right in saying that we've had a disastrous World Cup.
00:35 There's no point in sugarcoating that because it's the truth.
00:39 We know these last three games, for us, we've got a lot to play for.
00:44 I think the biggest thing that we've got to play for is obviously the pride of what it
00:47 is to put the three lions on your chest.
00:49 Walking out onto the field every time is a very special occasion and something that we
00:56 value very highly.
00:57 I know there'll be a lot of noise around England and Australia in the next game, but regardless
01:03 of who we play against, the feeling of putting that shirt on is something that we take very
01:09 seriously.
01:10 And the people watching back home, obviously it's three months since the Ashes finished
01:14 and the rivalry, the tensions and stuff on the field created great interest in the game
01:20 in cricket and got a lot of people invested.
01:22 So it's just another chance to entertain back home and keep those people involved.
01:27 Yeah, I guess so.
01:30 I hope people from Australia watch and I hope people from England watch.
01:35 On a personal level for you as well, you came out of retirement and the job then was get
01:42 to the final stages, get into those big moments.
01:46 Obviously, as you said, it's been disastrous.
01:49 You're not able to do that, but do you still feel that there's something for you personally
01:55 to do and play for when you can't get to those end stages?
01:58 Yeah, it just goes back to what I said there.
02:02 Never take every game you play for your country for granted.
02:06 That's enough for me.
02:08 Mohamed Chami is obviously bowling beautifully at the moment.
02:18 Can you talk us through what it was like to face him and what sort of challenges he offers
02:23 at the moment?
02:24 Yeah, I've played a lot of cricket against Chami.
02:26 He's a fantastic bowler.
02:27 I think we watched him last night and they brought a stat up in a World Cup.
02:31 It's quite phenomenal actually.
02:33 He's been obviously the bowler of the World Cup, I think.
02:39 I don't think he's played every game, but the way in which he's in every situation and
02:44 every game he's come in, it's been incredible the amount of wickets he's taken.
02:48 He's just found a way to be able to get wicket.
02:52 Obviously, that spell against us was one of many he's had this World Cup.
02:59 Sometimes you just say to the opposition that you're very good and Mohamed Chami's been
03:04 very good throughout this whole World Cup.
03:06 Can I just ask about your bowling?
03:07 You've been an all-rounder your whole cricketing life, haven't you?
03:11 How has it been, just being in the field?
03:14 Is it very frustrating and how long until we might see you bowling again?
03:19 Not bowling makes it seem a lot longer than what it normally is.
03:23 It's been, obviously, over the last 18 months, it's been will I, won't I?
03:28 Whereas actually this World Cup, I've not had to worry about that and be able to just
03:37 focus on going out there and trying to contribute to the team with runs, which is obviously
03:44 something I've not been able to do.
03:46 It's probably the first time since I've had this knee issue where it's been quite clear
03:51 that I'm not going to be bowling.
03:55 From that sense it's probably actually been, not relief, but just not having to worry about
04:02 waking up and going, "Yeah, I feel all right.
04:03 I feel like I can bowl today."
04:04 Or, "No, not today," if that makes sense.
04:05 We'll go Mel Farrell and then we'll go Jennifer Gale and then Rebecca.
04:16 Go ahead, Mel.
04:17 Ben, in this World Cup campaign, as England have sort of lost games, a lot of the players
04:21 and coaches have come out and not been able to put their finger on what actually has gone
04:28 wrong so quickly.
04:32 Everything's sort of been the same, feeling in the group is good, all that sort of thing.
04:36 Is there anything that you have been able to recognise?
04:40 If not, is the fact that no one's been able to work out what's gone wrong, is that part
04:45 of actually the problem?
04:48 No, I think the problem is that we've been crap.
04:55 To be honest with you, we've been crap.
05:01 Everything we've tried throughout this World Cup, through trying to put pressure back onto
05:07 the opposition in a way in which we know, or trying to soak up the pressure in a different
05:12 way which we know we've done before and been successful with, it's just not worked.
05:17 Every opportunity that we've had in front of us where we feel like we can take control
05:21 of the game, the opposition's managed to get it back towards them.
05:28 We've just not been able to put a full game together or even got close to putting a full
05:32 game together except against Bangladesh.
05:38 If you dive too much into it around cricket, you find you come out with more questions
05:42 than answers.
05:44 We know that as individuals and as a team, I think that's where it is as a team, we've
05:49 been nowhere near good enough to be able to compete in a World Cup which has been incredibly
05:53 disappointing because we know we're so, so much better than what we've shown out here.
06:00 Not having an answer and being able to understand as to why it's gone wrong is very simple,
06:08 that's the answer.
06:09 If we knew what had gone wrong, we would have been able to fix it.
06:11 But unfortunately we don't, it's just been one of those tournaments where it's just been
06:17 a disaster and there's no point sugarcoating it because it's probably what you're all going
06:20 to write anyway and it's true.
06:22 You say if you knew what was wrong, you'd fix it.
06:27 You've been in situations, whether as captain or at the T20 World Cup last year in Australia
06:32 where you came out and gave a bit of inspiration yourself, whether it be in a talk or on the
06:38 field, is there anything that you do before a game like this?
06:45 I think through experience, it's something that I've always, especially over the last
06:50 five, six, seven years, I've always been able to stay quite level through success and through
06:56 failure.
06:57 I'm only as good as my next game, which is an easy way to park success and park failure
07:07 and then just concentrate on the next game ahead of us.
07:10 You can't live on a reputation of things that's gone on in the past because you're always
07:14 judged on by what you do on any given day.
07:18 But yeah, I can't really explain or say as to why things have gone so wrong for us as
07:25 a team.
07:26 Ben, now that you've played most of the teams that are in India, you know, sort of playing
07:36 for pride, who would be your World Cup winners if I would ask you to predict which is the
07:43 team?
07:44 Would it be India or would it be South Africa, who's also making big totals, big scores?
07:53 South Africa are looking good.
07:54 Probably not the answer you wanted to.
07:55 Ben, you spoke about the obvious chatter that comes with Australia-England contest, but
08:14 personally do you have a way of like dealing with it?
08:16 Do you get amused by it?
08:17 Do you like hearing everything that people are saying or do you just dismiss it and say,
08:23 "Eh, doesn't matter to me"?
08:25 Playing for as long as I've played, you know what comes with it.
08:32 There's always a bit more chatter when England play Australia in whatever it is.
08:36 So yeah, you just see it and I understand why.
08:40 It's a bit like when India and Pakistan come and play each other.
08:46 There's always going to be that rivalry.
08:49 Yeah, but there's been, if you have to pick a single funny or happy moment on this tour,
08:57 which you've said has been a crap, but anything funny, anything happy that you would take
09:01 away that sticks in your mind?
09:04 Sorry, I wasn't prepared for that question.
09:13 Ask me again tomorrow and I'll have some of that.
09:23 Hi Ben, you've been a part of two global teams that have won global titles, 2019 and then
09:29 last year.
09:30 Compared to those two teams and the one here, is there anything that's changed in the dressing
09:35 room or on the field?
09:36 I mean, obviously performance is the one big thing and the results, but anything apart
09:39 from that that's changed?
09:40 Performance and results.
09:46 Ben, I think we all know England are really struggling to go through, not mathematically
09:56 out yet.
09:57 If that was to come tomorrow against Australia and they were the ones to knock you out, mathematically
10:02 speaking, does that make it worse in any way that it's your big rivals?
10:06 No.
10:07 I thought we were out as well.
10:12 Not 0.4% chance or something.
10:13 No, I don't think if you lose the World Cup, if you're out, you're out.
10:14 I don't think it really matters who it is.
10:23 Well, Ben, we saw you using an inhaler on the ground in Bangalore.
10:30 Is the air too bad?
10:31 Are you guys struggling, you and the England players with that?
10:34 I've actually got exercise and juice asthma, so sometimes going from -- I get it when it's
10:42 cold, but obviously it doesn't happen here that often.
10:47 Sometimes it happens when you go to a new city in India where the air is slightly different.
10:53 So yeah, that could be a reason for it.
10:56 You know, Bangalore, when we actually turned up, just felt a lot fresher.
11:01 But doing the running that I was doing does bring it on a lot easier than normal.
11:05 So it could be a reason for it.
11:07 Hi, Ben.
11:08 I was going to ask you about the inhaler as well.
11:13 Is that condition something that's new?
11:15 Have you had it a number of years?
11:17 No, I've had it for ages, yeah.
11:20 Any other players been using inhalers over here?
11:23 Or just you?
11:25 Not that I know of.
11:29 Just checking on the knee.
11:30 Yeah.
11:31 So, you've got -- coming to the World Cup, delayed having an operation or any further
11:34 treatment and are you going to be okay for the Test Series in February?
11:38 Yeah, I'll be fine for -- well, hopefully be fine for the Test Series in India.
11:43 But yeah, I am having surgery after the World Cup.
11:46 And have you been told what -- can you say what you're having done and how long you'll
11:51 be?
11:52 Well, when we go to those meetings and generally take a physio and a doctor with me and then
11:56 those two start talking and then I just turn up and get put to sleep, wake up and hopefully
12:02 it's better.