Ben Stokes apologises for calling former England greats ‘has-beens’ in a ‘slip of the tongue’ which sparked outrage
Ben Stokes is not one for backing down, but the England skipper is trying to mend the olive branch snapped by former greats after he called them ‘has-beens’ in a ‘slip of the tongue’.
England captain Ben Stokes is a big, bold, brave man, so outwardly assured of himself you’d swear he wouldn’t have a regret in the world.
But he does have one this tour. And it’s a big one … the stinging, dismissive word “has-beens’’ which he dropped during the early tour visit to Lilac Hill in Perth when he was talking about criticism from former players.
This one word has the potential to ignite an uncivil war between England’s players past and present if things continue to go south for the tourists this tour.
The likes of Ian Botham and Geoff Boycott were instantly unimpressed by it and Boycott – who would whinge about Santa Claus on Christmas Day – is maintaining the rage despite Stokes’ apology.
Stokes tried to salvage things in Brisbane this week by making the surprise choice to front the media in Brisbane when an assistant coach was down to do it. That barely ever happens and it shows the depth of his concern.
“You know exactly what I meant by that,” Stokes said of his “has-been’’ slip.
“Everyone knows it was a slip of the tongue. I’ve explained that off record. I got the words I said there completely wrong. I think everyone knows that, I just never got asked about it on camera for me to say I got my words wrong. ‘Has-beens’ is a horrible word. It’s the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth in that moment.’ God, I’m going to be one of those [a former player] one day.’’
But Boycott today snapped the olive branch.
Under the headline “We has-beens do not enjoy watching England embarrass themselves and lose’’ he opened up again in today’s Telegraph.
But here’s the thing. Part of his anger comes with the frustration of knowing this England team can actually compete and perhaps beat Australia which you could not say about any other England touring team here for 15 years.
“England can beat Australia in Brisbane,’’ Boycott wrote.
“Man for man, they are more talented than the Aussies but it doesn’t help our chances of success if Ben Stokes keeps encouraging our batsmen to attack, attack with one finger hovering over the self-destruct button.’’
That is what hurts England fans. When they were getting beaten on recent tours here there was a sense of shoulder-shrugging resignation that Australia were simply better.
Not this time. When England were effectively 1-110 in their second innings in Perth they were on the verge of owning the match when disaster struck.
The closer they get the more acute the pain.
Originally published as Ben Stokes apologises for calling former England greats ‘has-beens’ in a ‘slip of the tongue’ which sparked outrage
