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Ben Stokes accused of lacking honesty as he calls Edgbaston pitch ‘subcontinent' track after defeat: 'Admit to our failings'
Ben Stokes has used Edgbaston pitch and it's 'subcontinent' nature as reason for losing to India. Image: Reuters
England captain Ben Stokes has been accused of lacking honesty and making 'poor excuses' as he blamed the Edgbaston pitch for mirroring 'subcontinent' conditions, resulting in the home team's first defeat against India at the venue on Sunday.
Indian cricket team won their first match at the Birmingham stadium in 58 years as they defeated England by a massive 336 runs to level the five-match series 1-1 after two matches. The margin of defeat exposed England's poor display in the match as they only managed to score 678 runs across two innings on a flat track where India posted more than 1,000 runs.
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Besides Indian batters outperforming England counterparts, the Indian fast bowlers also came across as a better lot, taking 18 out of 20 wickets. Akash Deep took a 10-wicket haul in the match while Mohammed Siraj accounted for seven wickets.
Stokes blames 'subcontinent' pitch at Edgbaston for defeat
Despite the Indian pacers flourishing on a flat track, Stokes felt the Edgbaston pitch was more like a subcontinent track and it played out in the visiting team's favour.
'To be honest, it's probably ended up being more of a subcontinent pitch as it's got deeper and deeper into the game,' Stokes told BBC's Test Match Special. 'You know, there certainly is a little bit in it to start off with, and I think we exposed that very, very well early on.
'But yeah, then just as it sort of got deeper and deeper, it just, yeah, it became a real tough slog for us and obviously, with the Indian attack and the conditions that they were used to and used some of how to expose those conditions, just sort of a little bit better than that can happen sometimes,' he added.
Stokes criticised by England fans for making excuses
The England cricket team fans were unhappy with Stokes' 'excuses' as they lambasted the captain and their team for trying to take away credit from the Indian team and blaming the pitch for their fallacies.
'What absolute rot. Sundar and Jadeja took 2/68 (21) in the fourth Innings,' a fan wrote on X. 'It was a slog because we simply couldn't match them in the new ball stage. Admit to our failings and how well India bowled.'
What absolute rot
Sundar and Jadeja took 2/68 (21) in the fourth Innings.
It was a slog because we simply couldn't match them in the new ball stage. Admit to our failings and how well India bowled. https://t.co/PrMmxnErut — James McCaghrey (@MccaghreyJames) July 6, 2025
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Another fan said: 'Stokes could be onto something here, Birmingham does resemble the subcontinent these days but apart from that just poor excuses.'
Stokes could be onto something here, Birmingham does resemble the subcontinent these days but apart from that just poor excuses. https://t.co/iLVwAvqVQ5 — Scott (@Scotty__91) July 6, 2025
A few other fans said that they would want Stokes to be honest and accept his mistakes.
I'd welcome some honesty from Stokes. For example, 'I made a big error with fielding after winning the toss', and 'our spinner isn't performing as we would like', and 'not all of our top 6 are firing', and 'our seam attack lacks a cutting edge' Just saying…. — Dave Raw (@davetheraw) July 6, 2025
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'I'd welcome some honesty from Stokes. For example, 'I made a big error with fielding after winning the toss', and 'our spinner isn't performing as we would like', and 'not all of our top 6 are firing', and 'our seam attack lacks a cutting edge' Just saying…,' an account by the name Dave Raw wrote.
I watched virtually all the match and it was like India were batting and bowling on a completely different wicket to us. Totally outclassed we were, as we were for large parts of the first test too. Another defeat at Lord's and I don't see any way back. — Dave Hill (@davehill_56) July 6, 2025
'I watched virtually all the match and it was like India were batting and bowling on a completely different wicket to us. Totally outclassed we were, as we were for large parts of the first test too. Another defeat at Lord's and I don't see any way back,' Dave Hill said.
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