England captain Ben Stokes is fully embracing the magnitude of The Ashes series and expects to play in all five Tests against Australia over the next two months.
Head coach Brendon McCullum insisted this winter’s contest represented “the biggest series of all our lives” while speaking in September and the England skipper agrees, saying “we’d be lying to ourselves” to suggest otherwise.
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton ahead of Friday’s opener in Perth, Stokes said his side have a “great chance” to win a series in Australia for the first time since 2011, with the team losing 13 and drawing two of 15 subsequent matches Down Under.
“Definitely [the biggest series of our lives]. Everyone in the world, everyone in Australia and England, knows how big this is,” said Stokes.
“I think if we were to come out and not accept that, and say ‘it’s just another series’ we’d only be lying to ourselves, lying to the fact of what the series is. It’s looking it in the eyes, taking it on and not being afraid of the challenge.
“We know it’s a huge task coming to Australia and everything that comes with that on the field and away from the field. It is a huge two-and-a-half months for us.
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“It’s about letting everyone know what the expectations are going to be like, so it’s not a huge shock and a, ‘woah, I didn’t expect this to be like this’.
“We’re in a good place. We’ve come over here to take the Ashes home, that’s the end goal, and we have selected a squad we think will give us a great chance.
“For me personally, this series won’t diminish anything I have tried to do or the time and energy I have put into the [captaincy] but it doesn’t take away from how important I feel it is by itself.
“I am desperate to get that plane home saying I am one of the few England captains to win an Ashes series. “
We can look at what victorious England teams have done and add that to our identity and how we play, how we take it on. But history is history, it’s about the here and now. History doesn’t count for anything when the series starts.
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‘I will leave it all out there’
Stokes stressed he has nothing to prove in Australia despite averaging 28.61 with the bat in the country and 40.94 with the ball and that he is backing himself to play a full part in the series after his home summer was curtailed by a shoulder issue.
The all-rounder also suffered two hamstring injuries in the second half of 2024.
He added: “I give absolutely everything when I play for England around the world. If I walk out on the field feeling I have to prove myself, that isn’t me as a captain or leader.
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“I definitely expect to play all five Tests. I am 34, I have played a lot of cricket and it is hard to do everything as an all-rounder. That is how I have always played the game.
“I will leave it all out there. I have worked so hard the last three months to make sure that when it comes to game time I am there physically to fulfil that role.”
Australia will be without premier seamers Pat Cummins (back) and Josh Hazlewood (hamstring) for the Perth Test, with Scott Boland and the uncapped Brendan Doggett likely to take their places.
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The mood music has been that Cummins and Hazlewood’s absences – the quicks have taken over 600 wickets combined – have given England a great opportunity to move ahead in the series but Stokes said: “Australia are, and always will be, one of the biggest forces in Test cricket, cricket in general.
“People may have swayed the result one way or the other with Pat and Josh missing the first Test but we don’t feel that way at all.
“They are a fiercely competitive nation when it comes to sport and we know whoever comes into the team are going to be tough to go up against.
“We will be taking this game just as seriously as if Pat and Josh were playing.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
First Test: Friday November 21 – Tuesday November 25 (2.30am) – Optus Stadium, PerthSecond Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4.30am) – The Gabba, BrisbaneThird Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (12am) – Adelaide OvalFourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket GroundFifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
