Stokes appeals to ECB to keep faith in McCullum despite Ashes defeat

Sydney, January 03: England captain Ben Stokes has appealed to maintain faith in head coach Brendon McCullum despite the crushing defeat in the Ashes series in Australia. Stokes asked the England Cricket Board (ECB) to avoid any hasty decisions and supported moving forward with a ‘baseball’ philosophy.

The five-match Ashes series was considered to be the biggest test for the pair of captain Stokes and coach McCullum. After coming together in the year 2022, both of them promoted a new style of aggressive cricket. Although the England team had arrived on the Australia tour with high expectations, they fell 3-0 within just 11 days. Despite this, by winning the Melbourne Test, England ended the 15-year winning drought in Australia.

Questions are being raised about McCullum’s future before the final Test to be played in Sydney on Sunday. Responding to this, Stokes said that he wants to continue working with McCullum.

Stokes was quoted by the British media as saying, “I have no doubt in my mind that Brendon and I are the right people to take this team forward in the times to come. I don’t think anyone else can take this team from where it is to greater heights. We are both fully committed to continuing what we are doing.”

Stokes acknowledged that the team’s results and consistency have declined compared to the initial period with McCullum, but expressed confidence in improving it.

He said, “We need to discuss some things so that the players can perform even better than before. In the journey since Brendan and I took over the responsibility, we need to improve in some areas to move forward.”

Stokes also spoke openly about the pressure of the Ashes tour. He admitted that protecting himself and his players from the constant scrutiny of the media and social media had been tiring.

Stokes said, “We expected this and we had also prepared for it. I have visited here many times before, but this time the pressure was more than before. Social media and media have changed so much now that it is impossible to stay away from them completely.”

He added humorously, “I have a thick skin, but it’s impossible not to see everything. The only way to avoid this is to throw the phone in the river, but I love playing games on my phone, so I can’t do that.”

The final Test of the Ashes series between England and Australia will be played in Sydney from Sunday.