Ben Stokes has admitted England have fallen well short of their standards in the Ashes, describing their performances as “poor” at times, but insists his commitment to leading the Test side remains unwavering despite the series being lost in a record-equalling 11 days.
England arrived in Australia dreaming of a historic away Ashes triumph, only to be comprehensively outplayed as Australia stormed to victories in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. The defeats, by eight wickets, eight wickets again, and then 85 runs, sealed the urn with two Tests still to play.
Stokes, who took over the captaincy in 2022 and recently signed a two-year central contract running through to the end of the 2027 English summer, made it clear that doubts about his future are misplaced.
“I absolutely still want to do this,” Stokes said. “Nothing has changed for me since the start of the tour. I’m committed to being England captain.”
While resolute about his role, Stokes did not shy away from criticism of England’s performances. He conceded that Australia had simply been better across the board and for longer periods.
“It obviously hurts,” he said. “Knowing we can’t achieve what we came here to do is really disappointing. Australia have executed with bat, ball and in the field far more consistently than we have. We’ve had moments where we’ve been good, but they’ve been better for much longer stretches.”
He pointed in particular to England’s struggles with the ball, acknowledging that lapses in accuracy were ruthlessly punished in Australian conditions.
“We know the plans that work out here,” Stokes said. “But we haven’t been able to execute them for long enough. You can’t afford to be as inconsistent as we’ve been, especially with the ball. When you’re off here, you pay for it.”
England’s batting approach has also come under scrutiny. The ultra-attacking style that fuelled their early success under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum has been noticeably tempered, with England scoring more slowly than Australia throughout the series. Australian captain Pat Cummins suggested England appeared to be searching for a method that worked.
“They’ve changed their style quite a bit game to game,” Cummins observed. “That can happen overseas when you’re trying to find an approach that works.”
Cummins highlighted England’s cautious approach on the second day in Adelaide, when they scored at a crawl in extreme heat on a flat pitch. Stokes himself batted patiently, making an unbeaten 45 from 151 balls before accelerating the following morning.
Stokes defended England’s overall identity but accepted that execution had not matched intent.
Despite the series defeat, he insisted there was still plenty to play for in Melbourne and Sydney.
“Playing for England is reason enough,” he said. “We’re not going to throw our toys out of the pram because the series is gone. There’s still a lot on the line.”
He also argued that Adelaide represented England’s most complete performance of the tour, pointing to their fightback with the ball and a spirited final-day chase led by Jamie Smith and Will Jacks.
“We actually bowled Australia out for a below-par total on day one,” Stokes said. “We knew we had a big opportunity to put a score on the board and really put them under pressure. We didn’t take it, but we stayed in the game and fought hard.”
England reduced Australia’s lead to 85 in the second innings and briefly threatened something remarkable on the final day, but Stokes admitted that being close was not enough.
“We were close, but close doesn’t win you games,” he said. “That’s the reality.”
With emotions still raw in the dressing room, Stokes said England would reflect carefully on what went wrong and what can still be salvaged from the tour.
“It’s a tough moment for everyone involved,” he said. “But when we sit down and really talk it through, we’ll take lessons from this. The challenge now is to apply them quickly and give ourselves a chance to be a more consistent team in the remaining Tests.”
