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.

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