Ben Stokes: England captain says past three months ‘hardest period’ of his tenure
Ben Stokes says the last three months have been the “most difficult period” of his England captaincy and he backs the current regime to take the team forward.
The 34-year-old published an open letter to fans on social media after it was announced that he, head coach Brendon McCullum and England team chief executive Rob Key would remain in their roles despite a 4-1 Ashes defeat over the winter.
England’s Test tour of Australia ended negatively due to poor planning, substandard performances and off-field issues, including concerns about alcohol consumption.
Despite this, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) resisted a change of personnel following a review of the tour.
Earlier on Monday, Key said there had been “no fight” between Stokes and McCullum during the Ashes, despite giving conflicting messages throughout the series.
Stokes later said in a post featuring a photo of himself, Key and McCullum that the current England leadership group had the necessary “passion and desire” as they look to the future.
“Being England captain is the greatest honor that can be given to a player and I do not take it lightly,” Stokes wrote.
“It has its highs, it has its lows, it makes you want to smile, it makes you want to cry. It completely and utterly consumes you and sometimes it feels like it’s the only thing in your life.”
“The last three months have undoubtedly been the toughest period of my captaincy journey, it has tested me in so many different ways and I am sure other captains have gone through this process too.
“Base [McCullum]To peel [Key] “I too have the passion and desire to take this team forward, we will give you everything we have, we know we have made mistakes along the way and we have learned from those mistakes, you learn from failure more than success.”
Stokes has not played since suffering a groin problem in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney in January.
He is expected to play for Durham in the County Championship early next month before attention turns to England’s summer Test series against New Zealand in June and Pakistan in August and September.
Stokes admitted he “learned a lot about myself” during a test period in his career and posted a string of expletives with asterisks highlighting how much he “loved” cricket, the England team and being captain.
“I have so much to give to this role and I’m delighted to be doing it alongside Baz and Rob,” he added.
“We all appreciate everyone who supports us. We do what we do for many reasons, but one of those reasons is to bring a sense of happiness and pride to our supporters and fans, and we will aim to do these as much as we can in the future.”
