Ben Stokes hits out at critics over no fourth Test declaration as he insists rain would have still ruined Ashes classic
England captain Ben Stokes has insisted that rain would have scuppered the fourth Ashes Test regardless of whether he declared.
The hosts looked set to win the fourth Test at Old Trafford to level up the series at 2-2 ahead of next week's final clash at The Oval.
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However adverse weather conditions saw no action played on Sunday, which ensured that Australia have retained the urn.
It means that England cannot now win their first Ashes since 2015, where they can only stop the visitors from winning their first series in the UK since 2001.
England scored a massive 592 runs in their first innings after bowling Australia out for 317.
But fans and pundits questioned Stokes' decision not to declare on Friday, which would have given his side more overs to bowl Australia out.
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Day four was also plagued by rain, with Australia facing just 71 overs in total before the decision was made to call off the fifth day.
And speaking in his post-match interview to BBC Sport, Stokes stated that those that think a declaration would have made a difference do not understand the game.
He said: "To play the cricket that we played over the first three days in a game we knew we had to win, it's obviously disappointing to not be able to walk away from here with it being 2-2.
"When you look back at the cricket that was played, we did everything we possibly could.
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"Regardless of what we did we would have ended up in the same situation.
"I don't think anyone who is going to question the declaration in this game probably doesn't understand the game as well as we do.
"We've got three hours of cricket in three days, I don't think whatever we did, we would have been able to force a result in this game and that is unfortunately due to the weather. But it is what it is."
Praising his teammates's exciting performances, he added: "We want to leave the Test match summer with a win, the reward for your work isn't what you get, it's what you become.
"We've become a team that have been so unbelievably well followed and we will live long in the memories of those who have watched us.
"As much as I would love to be an Ashes winning captain, I want this team to be a legacy team.
"And regardless of what happens over the next period, this 18 months will go down in history as one of the most exciting and proactive teams to go out there and represent England."
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