“You never expect them to hand it to you. Like I said, I’ve been on the wrong side of the result a lot here so you know what to expect. You know how good Australia are in their own conditions. But the fact that we managed to get across the line today is excellent and hopefully we can improve on this week and next week as well.”
Stokes echoed the sentiments and spoke about how the team maintained focus despite the noise around their camp before the Test, with apprehensions around their Noosa trip, a video involving Ben Duckett that led to an ECB enquiry, and the weight of a 3-0 series loss in a rubber that was not supposed to be lopsided.
“After the couple of days building up to this match, there was quite a lot thrown our way,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation. “To be able to come out here and put a performance in like we did there on the back of all of that kind of stuff. Just make sure that we stay focused on the task at hand, which is to come out here and try and beat a very good Australian team.
“And we’ve managed to do that. So a lot of credit has to go to the players, the staff and all the management to be able to make sure that the lads’ focus was completely and utterly on cricket. Very, very proud captain here of the guys in the dressing room.
“It’s obviously been a tough tour up until now and we’re obviously over the moon that we managed to get on the right side of a result. It’s been not only a tough tour for us as a team out here, but obviously everything that’s gone before us. So to be stood here now and be part of a team who’s managed to win a game out of Australia over a long period of time is a pretty good feeling.”
