"Cricket has never been better with Ben Stokes in it" - Mark Petchey, Rennae Stubbs and tennis world react to Australia-England thriller at the Ashes

Former tennis players Rennae Stubbs and Mark Petchey reacted to Australia winning the first Test against England at the Ashes.

With 174 runs to win at Day 5 with just seven wickets to spare, the Aussies looked second best to prevail the match. However, a determined knock from captain Pat Cummins propelled them to a historic win by just 2 wickets to lead 1-0 in the 5-match series.

Taking to social media, Stubbs extended her compliments to Cummins for leading the team to an emphatic win.

"Legend!," she wrote on her Instagram stories.

Meanwhile, Petchey hailed England captain Ben Stokes for his impact on Test cricket.

"Cricket has never been better with @benstokes38 in it and at the helm. Completely revitalised Test Cricket," his tweet read.

@bbctms @benstokes38 Cricket has never been better with @benstokes38 in it and at the helm. Completely revitalised Test Cricket

During his post-match interview, Stokes stated that his team was devasted on the loss. However, he feels that such thrilling encounters will attract more people to the sport.

"We're absolutely devastated that we've lost, the lads are up there in pieces. But if that game's not attracting people to our sport then I'm not sure what will," he said.

Australian tennis player Daria Saville also took to Twitter to express her delight on her nation's win.

"yeeeew!!!!," she wrote in her tweet.

yeeeew!!!! twitter.com/wwos/status/16…

Here are a few other reactions to Australia's Ashes win:

Love this!!! 👏🏏 twitter.com/cricketcomau/s…

Brett Lee 40* in 2005, now OUR 🇦🇺 skipper @patcummins30 goes 44* to get Australia home.

Just. EPIC.

This is #Ashes Test Cricket !!!! twitter.com/cricketcomau/s…

@cricketcomau Redemption for Edgbaston 2005 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/W5DDShD0LQ

@cricketcomau Ollie Robinson “we feel like they have 3 #11s”

Nathan Lyon
“Who’s Holly Robinson?” https://t.co/d0Lna9anBi

@cricketcomau Bazball... HAHAAHAHAHHAHAHA

@cricketcomau PATBALL > BAZBALL 😅 @patcummins30 🔥 https://t.co/bHHmJIj3Ce

One of the best cricket matches I have seen . Australia hold their nerve as England fail to capitalise on a late opportunity to take a catch . That England declaration on day one has come back to bite England twitter.com/cricketcomau/s…

Rennae Stubbs advices Emma Raducanu to make strong and steady comeback to tour with the right team

Rennae Stubbs recently adviced Emma Raducanu to take her time and find the right team for a strong return to the tour.

Raducanu has been sidelined since the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after undergoing surgeries on both her hands and her left ankle. With the Brit yet to confirm her comeback, Stubbs stated that she should take her time to recover.

"Emma, you are good enough. You've proven it, you’ve won a Grand Slam already, you're a great player. You made the fourth round of Wimbledon. These are all the things that you're still capable of doing. Get your health, get yourself healthy. Get the right people around. Don't do anything more than you need to do,” she told SportsTalkOnPrime.

The 52-year-old also advised the Brit to gather the right supporting team around her.

"Get the right team around you because you're good enough and I hope she is because she's a great kid and I really respect her a lot," Stubbs continued.

Rennae Stubbs is currently coaching Eugenie Bouchard. She has also coached the likes of Serena Williams, Karolina Pliskova and Samantha Stosur in the past.