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'Absolutely not': Why Stokes holds no fears over Gabba conditions
Nicholas Quinlan • November 29th, 2025 3:38 pm
English captain Ben Stokes remains confident that his side will be able to rebound from their First Test defeat in the Ashes despite not having beaten Australia in a day-night Test.
After having bowled Australia out for 132, England were in a commanding position halfway through Day 2 at Optus Stadium, having led by 105 runs with nine wickets, with their BazBall approach looking like it had helped deliver the visitors' first Test victory on Australian shores since 2011.
But after a subsequent batting collapse and some Travis Head magic, Australia chased England’s target of 205 runs within a session, seeing them lose.
Reflecting on the result, Stokes admitted that he was disappointed with the result but felt that England had some plenty of promise.
“We did some amazing things throughout that Test match,” he stated.
“The way we bowled in the first innings, we were 100 (runs) for 1, and we ended up putting the score on the board that we believed was definitely defendable.
“But we all know that we can look back on that and we have done that and said there were moments in that game where we could have been a lot better.”
Stokes would also respond to some of the criticism surrounding the approach that England has taken, believing that some of it is a bit unfair.
“You can call us rubbish, call us whatever you want (us) to be,” he added.
“We didn’t have the Test match we wanted to…but yeah, I think arrogant might be a little bit too far.
“But that’s ok, we’ll take the rough with the smooth.”
Coming into the Second Test which will be a Day/Night Test, there is plenty of pressure for England to achieve an upset result to avoid potentially going down 2-nil with three Tests left in the series.
In the 14 matches that Australia have played in the format, the hosts have won 13, with their only loss coming against the West Indies back in 2022 at the Gabba.
Meanwhile, England, who have played in seven Day/Night Tests, have only won two with the visitors having lost all three matches against Australia when playing with the pink ball.
When asked if he had any concerns about the conditions ahead of the match next Thursday, the captain had none, believing that their preparation will them deal with the tougher weather conditions compared to Perth.
“No, absolutely not,” Stokes declared.
“Over the three days we’ve been out training, and we’ve actually got an understanding of how much difference this week is going to be compared to Perth in terms of the weather and the conditions.
“It’s a lot sweatier, muggier, stickier, so we feel that it’s going to be a lot harder physically than the conditions we faced in Perth.
"So, if you’ve got an understanding of what it’s going to be like in Brisbane, it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be hard.
“But that’s why it’s called Test cricket.”
Tune into Sport Nation for live ball-by-ball commentary of The Ashes series, the second Test begins December 4, available on the Sport Nation app via SEN.
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