The Albany Gazette - Stokes urges England to stick with McCullum despite Ashes defeat

The five-match series was billed as the ultimate test for the regime of captain Stokes and head coach McCullum, who joined forces in 2022, promoting an ultra-attacking brand of cricket.

England arrived in Australia with high hopes but went 3-0 down after just 11 days of cricket before ending their 15-year winless streak Down Under with victory in Melbourne.

The teams will meet for the final Test in Sydney on Sunday, with questions swirling over McCullum's position.

Stokes wants to remain in harness with the former New Zealand batter, warning against kneejerk changes.

"There is no doubt in my mind that me and Brendon are the right people to carry on doing this for the near future," Stokes said in comments carried by British media.

"I can't see there being someone else who I could take this team (with) from where we are now to even bigger heights. We're both pretty keen on carrying on doing what we are doing."

The all-rounder admitted that England's results and consistency had dropped off since the early stages of his partnership with McCullum but he remained positive.

"We've obviously got some things to go away and speak about to try and get the boys pushing even further forward than we managed to achieve since me and Brendon first took over the job," he said.

Stokes admitted the intensity of the Ashes tour had been draining, particularly the attempt to shield himself and his players from the constant scrutiny.

"We expected it, we'd planned for it, and I've done a few tours here, but it's been even higher than any other tour I've been on," he said. "Social media, and media in general, has changed a lot and impossible to not see anything these days.

"I've got pretty thick skin towards it all but it's just impossible not to see it. The only way to do it is just throw your phone in the river but I like games on my phone too much to do that."

(B.Smith--TAG)