Ben Stokes has called on England to eradicate the inconsistency that has dogged
Robin Yount Youth Jersey their Test cricket but insisted their desire to win must not be called into question. While English cricket is still basking in the success of the women’s team lifting the World Cup at Lord’s on Sunday, attention will soon switch to the men when they resume hostilities with South Africa in the third Test at The Oval. Joe Root’s side are looking to recover from the heavy loss at Trent Bridge that attracted a raft of criticism – not least in the direction of the batsmen – and once again highlighted the fragility of a side that has now followed their last three victories with defeat and sees the four-match Investec series locked at one apiece with two to play. Stokes, Root’s vice-captain, said: “It is frustrating. We don’t quite know what it is but if we can go forward and eradicate that we will be in a better position. We know how good we are at bouncing back but it is a huge two games coming up, especially this one.” The Recap: sign up for the best of the Guardian's sport coverage Read more Asked whether the outcry that followed Nottingham went too far, Stokes replied: “I think it was. For anyone to question our fight or desire I think is wrong. They should know how much it means to play for England – how much to wear the Three Lions on your chest. We have to take criticism on performances which we are understanding of, but [questioning our] desire is too much.” Quite who Stokes was specifically aiming these words at is hard to pin down – application with the bat, rather than a lack of passion, was the general diagnosis – but clearly England, who will give a debut to Tom Westley at No3 this week, are in the mood to right a few wrongs. It would certainly continue the positivity that followed Heather Knight’s
http://www.authenticmilwaukeebrewers.com/Ryan-Braun-Jersey women’s side beating India in dramatic fashion on Sunday, something Stokes, the Nat Sciver of the men’s game, believes can be a source of inspiration. He said: “What they managed to achieve was amazing. To do it at home and at Lord’s as well just shows how far the women’s side has come. They’ve obviously been a huge driving force in getting younger women into the sport too. We couldn’t be more happy for them. We’ve got competitions coming up as well and we hope we can perform as well as they did.” England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace, was briefly in charge of the women’s national team in 2000 and credited the win to both the character of the current generation and the bold decision taken by Mark Robinson last year to move on from their record run-scorer, Charlotte Edwards. “It was brilliant, not just for the girls who played but for all the kids coming through,” said Farbrace. “The fact that India got to the final can only be good for women’s cricket in that country. To win it at home, having lost the first game against India, under a lot of pressure, shows a lot of character and a lot of skill. For Robbo to have made
http://www.authenticsandiegopadres.com/Cory-Spangenberg-Jersey the change with Lottie, that was a big decision and so far it has proved the right thing to do.” The success of the women’s World Cup as a whole has given an added layer of impetus to cricket’s bid for inclusion in the Olympic roster too, with the International Cricket Council currently considering an application to feature in the 2024 and 2028 games – the host cities for which will be announced in September. Stokes, who will be 33 by the time the first of those comes around, said: “You look at the golf in the Olympics, that obviously caught the imagination of everyone – it was just as exciting as watching the Open or the Masters. I don’t know if it is going to happen but if it does it would be amazing to represent your country at the Olympics.” Farbrace, in keeping with a more progressive attitude towards the concept of Olympic cricket in the English game of late, added: “I don’t
Dave Winfield Youth Jersey now how they would do it but anything that gets cricket played around the world and more exposure has to be a good thing
