England captain Ben Stokes addressed claims that his team showed arrogance during the first Ashes 2025-26 Test against Australia in Perth. Ahead of the second Test, the veteran all-rounder admitted that England missed key chances in the opening match, but said he was not happy with the “arrogant” label.
Australia took a 1-0 lead in the Ashes after dominating England in the Test match that ended in just two days. Left arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc played an important role in Australia’s victory. He took 10 wickets in the entire match, including seven in the first innings, and was named player of the match.
England were frustrated by letting the game slip away quickly in the second innings, drawing a strong reaction from former fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who branded the visitors “arrogant” after their defeat.
I’d rather be called ‘nonsense’ than ‘arrogant’ – Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes has hit back at claims his team showed arrogance during the Perth Test, saying the criticism went too far. Stokes said he was open to criticism and could accept people calling England “rubbish”, but said the charge of arrogance was unfair.
Ben Stokes said in a conversation with the media, “Look, you can call us rubbish, you can say whatever you want, we did not have the Test match that we wanted. We were great in parts of that game, but I think the ego may have been a bit much.”
The England captain said, “But that’s OK. We’ll take the hard with the easy. I like words like ‘rubbish’, but ‘arrogant’, I’m not so sure about that.”
“Arrogance may be too much.”
Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson called England “arrogant” and “arrogant Poms” who risk “serious embarrassment”.
Ben Stokes says he is “not too sure” about arrogance allegations. pic.twitter.com/KmT13PvW4z
– Test Match Special (@bbctms) 29 November 2025
Everyone knows it was a slip of the tongue – Ben Stokes
Several former captains, including Ian Botham, Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan, criticized the decision to play only one three-day practice game. Ben Stokes clarified that he never intended to insult former players and said that the comment was an accidental mistake.
“Everyone knows it was a slip of the tongue,” Stokes said. “The words I said there are completely false. I think everyone knows that.”
He said, “Has-beens is a terrible word. It’s the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth at that moment. I’m going to be one of them one day. It’s completely the wrong word and I think everyone knows I don’t mean it at all.”
Australia has taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.
Australia easily achieved the target of 205 runs in the Perth Test. Travis Head, who was promoted as the opening batsman, scored a century off just 69 balls. He scored 123 runs, while Marnus Labuschagne scored 51 not out. The hosts won by eight wickets in the match that finished inside two days.
As England moved to Brisbane for a five-day training block ahead of the day-night second Test at the Gabba, their preparations were disrupted by rain on Saturday.
Three unused players from the first Test, Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts, joined the England Lions for the two-day pink-ball game. Mark Wood skipped the optional practice session, and is expected to miss the second Test as well due to aggravation of his left knee problem.
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