MARK Stoneman is determined to help England prove they are more than Ashes also-rans in this winter’s two remaining Tests.
Joe Root’s men have lost the urn at the first opportunity, 3-0 down before Christmas, but Stoneman is confident they are capable of hitting back in Melbourne and Sydney.
“It’s pretty devastating really,” the straight-talking opener said, as he reflected on the innings defeat in Perth which meant Australia have regained the Ashes already.
“We came from the first two games, with the knowledge of where we wanted to put things right and how we were going to do things better ... so it’s pretty hard to take.
“The Ashes are gone but we hope the Boxing Day occasion will get us back up for it.”
The Melbourne Test is high on any wish-list for an English or Australian cricketer, and Stoneman is no different.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “There are experiences in world cricket that everybody would love to be a part of, and the Boxing Day Test is certainly one of those.
“It’s obviously not ideal going there 3-0 down, but at the same time what better way to bounce back than to perform well in the Boxing Day Test?”
Stoneman has won new admirers with his gritty batting in this series – 193 runs at 32.16 – but he regrets his highest score is 56.
“Personally, it’s pretty disappointing – because I’ve made starts in a lot of innings,” he added.
“It is pretty frustrating that I haven’t gone on to make the bigger contributions that would set us up.”
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