Stokes: Australia was incredible for five Tests

England captain Ben Stokes has reflected on his side’s 4-1 Ashes loss, believing that his side has not been able to perform as well as they had hoped.

Despite having batted well in the first innings, Australia quickly took control of the game when they began batting and would go on to win by five wickets to sew up a comprehensive series victory.  

Speaking as part of the post-match ceremonies, the captain felt that they had kept Australia to a smaller total in the first innings; it could have gone a different way.

“It was a great game to be involved in,” Stokes said post-game.

“Obviously, Test matches that go the fifth day and have a bit of drama at end is always great to be a part of.

“I think we should have got 100 (runs) more, and we allowed Australia to get a 100 too many in the first innings with the bat.

“If you look at 200 runs on the fifth day on that type of wicket, we would have been in the box seat.”

The five-wicket loss at the SCG marks a 4-1 series defeat for England.

While there are some positives to take out with the visitors winning their first Test in Australia since 2011, there will be some questions raised about whether they had been outplayed.

When asked if England was outplayed, Stokes admitted that his side could have played better throughout the series.

“I think there is a bit of both with it,” he continued.

“I think Australia (had) an incredible team; they played some incredible cricket. The individuals who stood up for them with the bat, and some outstanding performances with the ball from them as well.

“You've got to give them a lot of credit as well, but being pretty truthful to ourselves knowing we’ve done a little bit of damage to ourselves.

“It’s a tough one to take knowing we can play a lot better than that, but look, got to give full credit to Steve (Smith), Pat (Cummins) and the Australian cricket team.

“They have just been incredible for five Tests.”

England’s next Test match will take place later in the year when they take on New Zealand at home in June.