In this task, a passage will be given and the goal is to identify an event from the passage. An event is defined as a single word representing something that happened, is happening, or may happen. An event can be factual or hypothetical, positive or negative, certain or uncertain. While most events are based on verbs, an event can also be based on a noun (ex. storm, snow, rainfall) or a copula verb (is, was, been, etc.). The event must not be a pronoun or an adjective. For noun events with multiple words, use the last word in the phrase as event.

Passage: Flintoff said the English had played better than three straights defeats suggested, but hadn't been able to maintain pressure on the Australians at key stages of each Test. "At the 'Gabba, Australia came out strong and put us on the back foot and it was hard to come back," he said.
said