Ben Stokes ' new documentary details the extent of Australia 's sledge bombardment against hosts England during the 2019 Ashes series.
Phoenix from The Ashes provides unprecedented insight into what finished as the first drawn series in almost half a century. The result meant the Aussies kept their hands on the urn, with no love lost for their hosts as they avoided defeat in England for the first time since the 2001 edition.
Former Australia captain David Warner and wicketkeeper Tim Paine were among the main verbal villains, as shown by new audio captured by the stump cam. Kent cricket veteran Joe Denly was among their targets as Paine mocked his opponent by suggesting he was vain.
"I tell you what he (Denly) does," Paine—another ex-skipper of Australia's Test team—can be heard saying to his comrades. "He looks straight at the screen to see if he's on there."
The Tasmania talisman, 37, also takes aim at Rory Burns and sought to intimidate the Surrey star by saying he wouldn't get into a back-and-forth as he "doesn't have his big boys around." Burns recorded the most fours of any England player over the course of the series (49), though that was still almost half of Steve Smith's haul (92).
And 'the big boys' were also targeted as Warner attempted to impose himself upon Stokes during the third drawn Test at Headingley. It was there that Stokes has hit on the helmet by the ball but steadied his nerves to complete a second innings that's since gone down in Ashes (and cricket) history.
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Warner, 35, asked Stokes if he was 'okay' in a disingenuous tone, adding: " Ah, okay. Tough guy now, eh?” The England sensation enjoyed an unbeaten innings, and his 135 off 219 balls is considered by many pundits to be among the most significant of all time.
Nathan Lyon at one point piled on by telling England's red-headed menace: “No worries Stokesy, I reckon you and me make a good combination, bro.” Jack Leach, Chris Woakes and Joe Root also found themselves in Warner's sights at one point or another over the course of the five Tests.
Australia have now won two and drawn one of the past three editions of the The Ashes after defending their crown on home soil in January this year. Phoenix from The Ashes will be available to stream worldwide on Amazon Prime from August 26.
