Ashes: England captain reflects on team's landmark Boxing Day Test win

Melbourne [Australia], December 27 (ANI): England skipper Ben Stokes breaks down England's MCG win as pretty special as the tourists finally ended a 15-year wait for a Test win on Australian soil, according to the official website of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
After chasing down a tricky fourth-innings target in challenging conditions, the England captain admitted the closing moments were far from comfortable.
"Yeah, amazing feeling. 10 runs has never felt so far away, when I got out. I didn't want to come back into the dressing room and watch the TV on the delay. So yeah, awesome feeling," he said, as quoted from the official website of ICC.
"Been on a couple of tours before where it has not gone too well, so to end up on the right side of the result after a long period of time is a pretty special feeling," he noted.
The significance of the moment was underlined when the entire squad emerged from the dressing room to share the final moments together -- a release years in the making.
"We, at the end there when all the boys came out of the dressing room and had a little hug there and we're like, finally, finally we've won one. So, yeah, good feeling," he said.
On a surface that offered something for the bowlers throughout, England committed to a proactive approach in the fourth innings, a decision Stokes felt was essential against Australia's relentless attack.
"There was only one way of going about, chasing that, that tally down which was to, to go out there and, and try and put the pressure on from ball one," he added.
Stokes also praised England openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, calling their partnership of 51 runs a "huge reason" behind the successful chase.
"When Zak and Ben started building a partnership the field started to go back and then we were able to rotate (the strike)," he said.
"It wasn't just the boundaries that were allowing us to take that total down. It was the ones and twos and the running between the wickets," he explained.
England's tactical flexibility was also on display with Brydon Carse promoted to No.3, a move designed to counter the passage of play against the new ball.
"That wicket was very tricky, especially with a newer ball... we went with an idea of sending someone who's got talent with a bat. Even if he gets a quick 20-30, that's massive in a very small run chase," Stokes said.
While the move didn't fully come off, Stokes felt it eased the path for Jacob Bethell, whose composed knock of 40 in 26 balls stood out under pressure.
"I was very impressed watching him construct that innings in the way that he did," he noted.
Stokes highlighted Bethell's bravery, particularly his willingness to disrupt bowlers' rhythm, especially hitting Scott Boland over the covers immediately after the Tea break.
"You have got to be brave and courageous in, in the way that you play the game, especially on a wicket like that," he added.
"You don't underestimate the impact that a certain shot or a certain intent does to a bowler," he said.
Beyond the immediate result, the victory carried wider significance for a squad blending experience with youth, from veterans like Joe Root to players like Josh Tongue and Bethell at the start of their Test journeys.
"We will all share that same satisfaction, of winning a game out here and adding to it that it was a Boxing Day Test match which is a very, very big sporting event that we're lucky enough to be able to play in," he added.
"We're very proud and bosomed that we have managed to get this (win)," he noted.
Stokes also paid complements to England's initiative with the ball, the bowling attack continuing to evolve despite the loss of experienced quicks like Mark Wood and Jofra Archer at different stages of the tour.
"I have been very pleased with the moments in games where different bowlers have been able to stand up. I thought this week we (bowling attack) were very, very good," Stokes said.
The England captain was particularly impressed by Josh Tongue, who nabbed seven wickets across the two innings and was deemed the player of the match.
"He's just got that natural wicket-taking ability that is so hard to come by. He should be very, very proud of the way that he's operated this game. Bowled some long, big spells, and he's also backed it up," he added.
Despite the historic nature of the win, Stokes was quick to look ahead, insisting England would not allow the moment to distract from their next challenge.
"We're not going to let the feeling of this victory flow on further than it needs to. We'll be going into Sydney with the exact same mindset that we had towards this game, which is to win another game of cricket," he noted. (ANI)