Legendary fast bowler James Anderson has openly criticized England captain Ben Stokes after their humiliating 4–1 Ashes loss to Australia. He was really disappointed and unhappy with the way the defeat was explained by Ben Stokes.
The fallout from England’s 4-1 Ashes 2025-26 defeat has taken a dramatic turn, as James Anderson has publicly blasted captain Ben Stokes, describing the captain’s post-series comments as “nonsense.”
The former England fast bowler slammed Stokes for praising the effort of bowlers like Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse after the loss. Anderson believes that praising effort after such a poor Ashes series sends the wrong message and hides the real problems inside the team.
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England was completely outplayed by Australia in the recent Ashes 2025-26. Australia looked stronger, sharper, and far better prepared, while England arrived with almost no warm-up matches and was later accused of lacking discipline between tests.
Their Noosa break was heavily criticized by the former cricketers and fans, as they were already 2-0 down in the five-match Test series in Australia. Because of this, questions have now been raised about the overall culture and standards within the England cricket team.
Anderson’s Explosive Criticism: “You’re in the wrong sport”
The legendary fast bowler said that running in hard and giving effort is not something special, as mentioned by Ben Stokes, because it is simply the basic requirement of being an international cricketer.
Anderson on BBC Radio: “When I saw Stokes come out and say the way Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse have just run in so consistently, I had a Roy Keane moment. I was like, that’s your job. If you’re not willing to run in all day for your team, don’t bother. You’re in the wrong sport.”
The Mitchell Starc Benchmark: Anderson attacked Stokes
To explain his point, Anderson highlighted Mitchell Starc as the best example of what top-level commitment looks like. Starc finished the Ashes as player of the series with 31 wickets and also made valuable runs with the bat, scoring 163.
Even on the fifth day of the final test, Starc was still bowling at full pace, just as fast as he had in the five-match Test series, and Anderson said that this is the standard. The cricket pandit stressed that talking about effort after a big defeat is frustrating, saying this term should never even come into the conversation because it should already be part of every player’s mindset.
Blasting Stokes, the former fast bowler said that things like “the effort was there” only cover up deeper issues and lower the standards of the team.
Anderson noted, “Starc, for me, was the absolute standout of the series. He bowled on Day 5 of the final Test as quickly as he had bowled all series long. He was consistent with his speeds. But that is what you expect from all your bowlers. That is the standard. It always annoys me (when someone says), ‘Can’t fault your efforts.’ Well, the effort shouldn’t be a thing. It should just be in you.”
Ben Stokes’ Defense: “Commitment could not be questioned”
After the fifth Test, Ben Stokes had defended his players by saying their commitment and energy could not be questioned. The England captain had stated, “We’ve dropped a lot of catches on this tour, which have been very costly to the overall situation of the games.
In terms of stepping up, I can never fault anyone’s commitment or energy that they’ve given into this. We haven’t performed well; we know that, and we hold our hands up to that. But no one should question the care and commitment to try and go out there and give it your absolute best. It’s just been down to the lack of execution.”
