Stokes needs players to deliver for him now — or it's time for change

It's amazing how quickly things can fall apart.

- By Cameron Ponsonby

Stokes reacts to his dismissal in the second innings at Brisbane

The feelgood mantra of English cricket, built upon sleight-of-hand psychology that if you lift the pressure of international sport, your players will rise to its occasion, is gone. It took six days.“A dressing room I captain is no place for weak men,” said Ben Stokes after defeat at the Gabba. A man known for heroic acts when the going gets tough, standing aghast at the empire he built crumbling so quickly.

Robbed is the main emotion for those in Australia and those following the series from around the world. This was meant to be the climax of a project that started in 2022 and thousands had invested heavily in. England don't win in Australia. But England had never played cricket or had a captain like Stokes before. This time, it would be different.