Mentality and mindset is what makes the difference at the apex of sport, according to Ben Stokes.
The England captain has been leading his team Down Under in an Ashes series that has always been the ultimate challenge in Test cricket - a challenge that often proves insurmountable regardless of the quality of the touring squad.
Speaking after the second Test in Brisbane, Stokes identified the areas in which England had not been able to match Australia.
"It's a mentality," he said. "It's a mindset about how you take yourself out there in those situations.
"You know, Test cricket has its own pressures anyway, and how you handle those moments, how you handle yourself in those moments, how you get yourself into a clear head, a clear space to make good decisions. That's so important to being successful at this level.
"A lot comes down to being able to stand up to the pressure of the game, the format, when the game is on the line. In small passages, we were able to bring the game back into some kind of control and then we've let it slip away.
"We need to think a bit harder and deeper about those moments and what we're taking mentally into those moments. Because when the game was in a pressure moment, Australia kept outdoing us.
"But we don't panic, we don't flap, we don't waver... because we have complete and utter belief in our guys as a team. I believe emphatically in this group of players."
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