Ben Stokes Unsure About England Captaincy Future Without Brendon McCullum

After losing the Ashes series against Australia, fans are questioning the role of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum in the team. The head coach of England is specifically under radar, as his aggressive tactics to take on the bowlers have largely backfired in the series. The future of Brendon McCullum as head coach is therefore uncertain, as calls have been increasing lately to sack him after the series.

Amid the growing criticism, Ben Stokes has said that he 'can't see' his role as England captain without having Brendon McCullum at the coaching helm. Despite recent setbacks, he believes England have improved dramatically since Brendon McCullum took over the coaching role.

"Look, I've thoroughly enjoyed the time that I've worked with Brendon. I can't see there being someone else who I could take this team [with], from where we are now, to even bigger heights.” said England test captain, Ben Stokes.

"We've put so much time and effort into getting this team to where it was from when we first started, and now we're in a situation or position where we know we want to get even more out of the group, get even more out of individuals, and we feel we've done a very good job at getting everyone to the position we're in right now.” added Ben Stokes.

Stokes added that he often spends time with McCullum during breaks between international series to discuss areas for team improvement. As a result, they share a clear vision of how they want to take the England team to the next level.

"So, for us as captain and coach, when we do have the time off, like we've done every single time between series, we put our heads together and go 'what is it that we think we need to go to the next level?' Because, being perfectly honest, you look back at how things have gone over the last, let's say, year - the results and the consistency hasn't quite been there from the first two-and-a-half to three years that we were in charge.” said Ben Stokes while talking to the reporters.

He added that the management reviews issues when results don’t go their way. They use series breaks to discuss various plans, like they will do now after the end of the Ashes series.

“So, when you start seeing a trend and something that is not what you want, when you have that time off between series like we do after this, from January and I think June, it's a long time for us to get things going again in the right direction.” said Ben Stokes.

"That's all we've ever wanted to do, is constantly push the guys and not wanting to stand still. We've obviously got some things to go away and speak about and try and get the boys pushing even further forward than we managed to achieve since me and Brendon first took over the job." added Ben Stokes.

Handling the Relentless Pressure of Ashes

Ben Stokes admitted that the pressure of the current Ashes series felt quite high as compared to any other previous tour. He added that playing in Australia is certainly challenging, as it is not like their home where players are accustomed to the conditions and can quickly regain rhythm after facing setbacks.

"I can't sit and lie and say it's been a walk in the park like some of the series feel, like they have been back in England, because you're used to the conditions, you're in your home and can nip back whenever you want between games. Out here you don't get the chance to do that.” said Ben Stokes.

He then highlighted how social media adds more pressure on the players. It is something people often downplay, but in reality, its pressure is not so easy to negate every time.

"A lot of people talk about it and say they don't read it, don't see it, don't look for it. But honestly, it's just impossible not to. Everywhere you go, with the algorithms of everything these days, your phone listens to you talk about one thing and you flick through Instagram and all of a sudden you see an advert for that. It's just ridiculous. It's just impossible." concluded Ben Stokes.