Ben Stokes believes that the last three months have been the “hardest period” of his tenure as England captain, but he is certain that the present leadership team can manage a turnaround for the Test side.
The England and Wales Cricket Board’s chief executive, Richard Gould, announced earlier on Monday that coach Brendon McCullum, managing director Rob Key, and Stokes would all remain in their positions despite the team’s 1-4 defeat during their five-Test tour of Australia, which concluded in January.
Despite the fact that Stokes and McCullum sent different messages amid a heartbreaking series defeat, Key refuted reports that the two had a falling out in Australia.
After the lowest point of his nearly four-year tenure as England captain, Stokes expressed in an impassioned Instagram post that he was determined to learn from his mistakes and that Key and McCullum were still the right men to be with him.
“Being England captain is the greatest honour a player can be given and I do not take it for granted,” Stokes wrote.
“It has its highs and it has its lows, it makes you want to smile, it makes you want to cry. It completely and utterly consumes you and feels like it’s the only thing in your life at times.
“The last 3 months has without a doubt been the hardest period of my captaincy journey, it’s tested me in so many different ways and I’m sure every other captain has gone through this as well.
“Baz (McCullum), Rob and myself have the passion and desire to take this team forward, we are going to give you everything we have, we know we made mistakes along the way and we have learnt from those mistakes, you learn more from failure than success.”
Concerns regarding the dressing-room atmosphere were raised by stories of excessive drinking by players during breaks, in addition to England’s subpar on-field performances.
Vice-captain Harry Brook was revealed to have gotten into a fight with a bar bouncer during the pre-Ashes trip to New Zealand.
Since Luke Wright quit for family reasons, a midnight curfew has been implemented, and the ECB is attempting to find a replacement national selector.
Before this season’s home Test schedule, Stokes will play for Durham in the County Championship. Stokes hasn’t played since sustaining a groin injury during the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney in January.
In June, England will play three Test matches against McCullum’s home country of New Zealand, followed by three matches against Pakistan in August and September.
Stokes added: “I have learnt a lot about myself but the most important thing that I want the fans to know is that….
“I FG love cricket, I FG love this team, I F*G love being England captain and I have got so much more to give to this role and I’m so happy that I get to do it with Baz and Rob.
“We all appreciate every single person who supports us. We do what we do for many reasons but one of those reasons is to bring our supporters and fans happiness and a sense of pride and we will aim to do those things as much as we can in the future.
“See you all in June for the start of the Test Match summer.”
