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Ben Stokes called the 4-1 Ashes loss to Australia national cricket team the toughest phase of his captaincy, but vowed a strong comeback. Despite criticism of the ‘Bazball’ approach, he, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key retain ECB backing and aim to restore pride in the upcoming Test summer.

London: England skipper Ben Stokes took to social media, describing the aftermath of a disastrous 4-1 loss to Australia in the away Ashes as the "hardest period of his captaincy journey" but vowed to bring "happiness and a sense of pride" for the fans in the Test summer this year.

Stokes and McCullum, who had refreshed the English batting group with a fearless, attacking and positive 'Bazball' approach to cricket, keeping the Ashes series at home and away in mind, failed to win in any of the series, drawing 2-2 at home in 2023 and facing a humiliating 1-4 loss in Australia. While there were still a plenty of positives to take away from the drawn series at home, England's batting methodology was exposed to be extremely vulnerable and brittle in Australian conditions, even with experienced pacers like skipper Pat Cummins (played only one Test) and Josh Hazlewood (missed the entire series) sitting out.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Monday confirmed that Stokes, McCullum and Key would be retaining their jobs following a review into the series loss. During the tour Down Under, the messaging to the team given to the media by Stokes and McCullum diverged, with the skipper frustratingly calling for the team to rise under pressure and McCullum sticking to his approach, urging players to display more "conviction" in the attacking brand of cricket they were playing. The contrast was such that Key had to deny that there was any "bust up" between the captain-coach duo.

Stokes, writing on Instagram, expressed happiness that he will continue working with the McCullum-Key duo, with England's Test summer at home starting against New Zealand with a three-match series in June.