Tim Paine, a former Australian Test captain, has criticized Ben Stokes for remarks regarding the Ashes 2023 series. He also called the England team “below-average”.

“Forever in the memory of people who were lucky enough to witness us play,” according to what Stokes told his English Test team.

During the washed-out Old Trafford Test, the captain talks to his team in the locker rooms. His remarks were made public in a recent English Cricket Board video series for the Ashes 2023.

After the series ended in a 2-2 draw in London, with Australia taking home the urn, Paine was taken aback to hear that Stokes believed his team will be remembered for their historic performance even though they had lost at home.

Paine characterized Stokes' team as mediocre, saying that unless they start transforming their self-assurance and bluster into winning Test matches, nobody would remember them.

“Oh, mate, I don't know, I think it was taken slightly out of context because he was talking in a changing room and it was a bigger speech, so I will say that,” Paine told SEN Tassie Breakfast.

“However, it's just this continued belief that they're completely changing the game and they're doing this amazing stuff and everyone's going to remember it … they're not. You're coming dead last in the World Test Championship. You're not going to be a team that everyone remembers watching and you're not doing anything outrageously good that we haven't seen before.

“You're an average cricket team. (Actually) you're at the moment, a below-average cricket team and I think they need to get their head around that a little bit.”