Ben Stokes said he has complete faith in the current leadership setup
He backed Brendon McCullum, calling them the “right people” for the job
England face Australia in 5th Ashes Test in Sydeny
England Test captain Ben Stokes has placed his full confidence in head coach Brendon McCullum, stating that they are the “right people” for the roles.
The McCullum-Stokes leadership pairing came under scrutiny after Australia retained the Ashes after winning each of the first three Tests of their current series Down Under.
England managed to avoid a whitewash heading into the final Test, which starts on Saturday, but much of the damage was already done to their reputation during the series.
England have not won an Ashes series in Australia since 2010-11, while they also failed to win on home soil last time out under McCullum’s guidance.
Amid growing criticism of their current approach to the longest format, Stokes defended his coach ahead of the final Test in Sydney.
“There is no doubt in my mind that me and Brendon are the right people to carry on doing this for the near future,” said Stokes.
“I can't see there being someone else who could take this team from where we are now to even bigger heights.
“We have not won here since 2010-11 and since that series things have happened because we think people need to change things, but it has not really worked has it?
“There's a lot of people who sit above me. Ashes tours in the past haven't gone well. But if you do what we did four years ago, we'll just end up back in the same situation.”
