England captain Ben Stokes has admitted that he should have chosen his words more carefully and not referred to former players as “has-beens” in the lead-up to the 2025-26 Ashes series. The all-rounder said that he was going to be a part of that “has-beens” group once he retired from the game, adding that those were the words that came out of his mouth at that point in time.
The 34-year-old admitted that he could have done a lot better as a captain than what he has so far, admitting that he was in charge of the decision-making in the present setup.
“I got the words I said there completely wrong. Has-beens is a horrible word. It’s the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth at that moment. God, I’m going to be one of those one day. But it’s not at all what I meant by that.”
“I could have been a lot better as captain. I am the person who makes decisions about how we go out there and operate, and I am the one who gives the plans to the bowlers. I wasn’t as clear as I normally am. The key thing for me is to be completely crystal clear with my bowlers,” Stokes said on Saturday.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan had criticised Stokes for using the words to describe the former players, admitting that while their views did not match those of the present team, they wanted England to win the Ashes as badly as anyone else did.
“England have to accept that there will be scrutiny. Just because the “has-beens” have a different view does not mean these are not valid comments. England should respect those views. They are coming from legends of the game who cannot play any more because they are too old, but that does not mean they do not desperately want England to win! All the former players and media I have spoken to want England to win this series. They are saying these things because they are concerned, and see the risk,” Vaughan had written in his column for The Telegraph.
The second Test in the Ashes series will start on December 4 in Brisbane.
