England desperate to avenge ‘rubbish’ first Test performance, says Ben Stokes

Stokes insists the players feel the same pain as England’s fans after a two-day defeat in Perth.

Ben Stokes believes some of the criticism of his England team has gone overboard, but would rather be called “rubbish” than “arrogant”.

A two-day defeat in the first Ashes Test in Perth last week led to plenty of difficult questions for the tourists, who have come under fire for their pre-series preparations, loose shot selection and the decision not send senior players to this weekend’s pink ball warm-up match in Canberra.

Former Australia pace bowler Mitchell Johnson branded them “arrogant” in a strongly worded column for the West Australian newspaper, which had previously branded Stokes “cocky captain complainer”.

Speaking before the first of five training sessions in Brisbane before Thu