Ben Stokes joins media war over 'live rent free' remark during Ashes 2023

England have not won an Ashes since 2015 and things looked promising when the captain and coach duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum joined hands to change the way Test cricket was played. They introduced a new fearless form of cricket which was termed as Bazball by the media and got promising results. But the Ashes remained afar and a statement by Stokes during England’s Ashes draw in 2023 has stirred the hornet's nest.

In a documentary released by the England Cricket Board, Stokes could be seen cheering up the dejected team when the series was 1-2 and the fourth match in Manchester was on the brink of a washout. He stated that England live rent-free in Australia’s mind and the statement was called out by Fox Sports. After Fox Sports’ cheeky dig at Stokes, he came up with an unabashed reply and maintained that he was purely encouraging the team.

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“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. 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,” said Stokes in the documentary.

Fox Cricket posted an article with Stokes’ quotes from Old Trafford and took a dig saying: “…right, yeah, sure.”

The England captain, however, responded by saying,“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."

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England will travel to Australia for Ashes 2025

As the fire catches the heat, England will take on Australia in the next edition of Ashes in 2025. Stokes, who has said goodbye to white-ball cricket is expected to lead the side and the competition will be intense. As England will see themselves in Australia for the Ashes 2025, the involvement of media in the off-field tussle has given the rivalry a different meaning altogether.