Ben Stokes has no intention of handing the Test captaincy back, even after Australia wrapped up the Ashes in just 11 playing days – the joint-quickest defeat in the series’ long history.
“Absolutely,” he replied when asked if he still wants the job. The all-rounder, who signed a two-year ECB central contract before the tour, stressed nothing has changed in his mind. England, he said, were hit by a sustained “barrage” and simply did not cope.
Quick facts first
• Australia lead 3-0 after wins in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
• Victory margins: eight wickets, eight wickets and 85 runs.
• England’s batting rate has fallen well below the free-scoring tempo seen earlier under Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
• Melbourne and Sydney remain, but only pride and World Test Championship points are on the line.
Stokes on the defeats
“It obviously sucks,” Stokes said. “Knowing now that we can’t achieve what we set out to do here is obviously very disappointing… It’s quite simple to me that Australia have been able to execute batting, bowling and fielding a lot more than us on a much more consistent basis.”
The skipper was equally frank about England’s inconsistency with the ball.
“They’ve been able to execute everything a lot better than us [for] a much more consistent period of time. We’ve had moments where we’ve been very good, but Australia have been a lot better than us over a much longer period of time in this series so far.”
He added that familiar plans were in place but rarely stuck to.
“We know the plans that work out here. We’ve just not been able to execute those plans for long enough. We did it in moments and did it in passages, but you just can’t be so poor with your execution as consistently as we have been over these first three games – and particularly with the ball, because when you’re off here, it gets punished, and we’ve seen that.”
Australia’s view
Pat Cummins, leading an attack that has struck at regular intervals, noticed England shifting tack from match to match.
“They seem to have changed their style quite a bit game to game,” Cummins said. “I think that can happen in overseas conditions: you’re always trying to fight for a method that works.”
He pointed to day two in Adelaide, when temperatures touched 40°C and England crawled to 154 for 5 in 54 overs. Stokes’ own 45 not out occupied 151 balls.
“Day two I thought was surprising: it was 40-odd degrees, it was hot, it was a very flat wicket and they shut up shop there for half of the day, which I was pretty happy with. Who knows? I’m sure they’ll talk about it and come at us with different plans for Melbourne and Sydney. I’m glad that we’ve been able to stick to our guns and play the way that we play best, and it’s worked.”
Where it went wrong
England’s attack, missing the injured James Anderson and dealing with Ollie Robinson’s side strain, has struggled to maintain lines and lengths long enough. On the batting front, the deliberate shift away from the previous ‘all-out’ style has produced neither security nor scoreboard pressure. The slower scoring has left less time to bowl Australia out, yet wickets have still fallen in clusters.
What next
The tourists are due a short break before Boxing Day. Selection changes are likely – Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed are pushing for spots – but Stokes hinted at stability, keen not to abandon players entirely. A draw out of the two remaining Tests would at least avoid a whitewash; two wins could rebuild some confidence heading into a busy 2026 summer.
For now, Stokes sounded bruised but realistic: the Ashes are gone, but the captaincy remains his responsibility.
