Ben Stokes claims England lives “rent-free” in Australian heads after Ashes jibe

England's cricket captain Ben Stokes has claimed that his team lives “rent-free” in the minds of the Australian cricket team. This comment came after Fox Sports, an Australian sports channel, poked fun at Stokes’ motivational speech, which was featured in a documentary about the Ashes 2023 series that ended in a 2-2 draw.

The Ashes series saw Australia winning the first two matches, putting them in a strong position. However, England made a remarkable comeback, winning the third match. In the fourth Test at Old Trafford, England was in a dominant position before rain washed out the match, preventing them from securing a victory.

England managed to win the final Test at The Oval, leveling the series 2-2. Stokes' words from the third Test, played at Headingley, were highlighted in the documentary released by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). In the documentary, Stokes shared his thoughts with the team, emphasizing that their efforts had created lasting memories, regardless of not winning the Ashes urn.

“Everything we’ve done up until now isn’t going to stop because we haven’t managed to win the urn back. The reward for our work isn’t what we get but what we become,' Stokes said.

“And what we have managed to do is we’ve managed to become a sports team that will live forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play cricket," he further added.

Acknowledging the disappointment of not reclaiming the Ashes, Stokes added, “I know it’s going to be a bit flat, I know it’s going to hurt that we go into the next game (at The Oval) not being able to get the urn back. But what we have done is something a lot bigger than any Ashes trophy could ever signify for this team – be the team that everybody will always remember.”

Fox Cricket shared an article on their social media platform X (formerly Twitter), with a sarcastic caption that read: “…right, yeah, sure.”

In response, Stokes took to X to address the Australian broadcasters' post, writing, “Said this to the team who had watched it rain for 2 days when we had our foot on your throats, just tried to cheer up the disappointment tbh, but anyways rent free and all that."