Ben Stokes: England Test captain plays down Ashes talk, eager to keep his side’s focus on third Test vs New Zealand

England Test captain Ben Stokes says his side must focus “on the here and now” and played down talk of the looming 2025/26 Ashes series in Australia.

Ahead of their third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton on Saturday – the series already secured, with England 2-0 up – Stokes cautioned against viewing everything as a stepping stone towards the Ashes.

“Every Englishman and Australian knows the Ashes is a big series for both teams but I think toning down on the expectations on that series is something I will be better at in the build-up,” Stokes said.

“You do always have one eye on that, but we have six more Tests before that [next year] so we have to focus on those games.

“I think, through my own fault, I maybe spoke a little too much about the Ashes and put too much emphasis on that series considering how much cricket we had to play before that.

“That’s so far away from what my leadership had been about – staying present, staying where we are, and then worrying about stuff when we have to worry about it. That was a mistake from myself.

“I don’t know where it really came from… there’s learning curves as a leader I guess.

“It is quite tough when you’ve got an Ashes coming around the corner. I’ve been involved in quite a few of those now and you do sort of look at the calendar and think, ‘oh it’s nearly here’.

“That’s hard to avoid, but I think I’ll just make sure I keep my focus on being in the here and now, and what we’ve got coming up. Then, when the Ashes is our next series, we will focus on it.”

England have certainly found their focus in New Zealand, producing thumping back-to-back victories at Christchurch and Wellington to end a 16-year wait for a series win in the country.

It means Stokes’ side are guaranteed to end 2024 in credit – with nine wins, seven defeats and one to play at Seddon Park. More importantly, the reboot of the team has been a largely successful one.

At the start of the English summer, a selection overhaul saw record wicket-taker James Anderson ushered into retirement, with the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach and Ben Foakes also replaced.

In their place, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse have picked up the pace bowling mantle, Jamie Smith – absent in New Zealand following the birth of his first child – looks the ideal heir to Bairstow as an attacking wicketkeeper-batter, and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has 47 wickets in 14 games.

“Seventeen Tests in a year is a lot when you add the other cricket; it’s been a long, tough slog but a really good year,” Stokes added.

“We’ve played some good cricket and found some extraordinarily talented players who have shown they’re capable of delivering big performances on the biggest stage, which is playing for your country.

“We’ve changed a few personnel on the road but the way in which we’ve stayed strong to what we’re all about, and learned about ourselves as players and as a team… we’ve come a long way.

“It definitely wasn’t a conscious decision to start bringing in really young guys. I think it’s just they’re a lot more talented than we were when we were at 19, 20, 21.

“In four, five, six years, the younger guys in this team are going to be the core, the experienced guys taking the team forward like I’ve tried to do. It’s an exciting prospect to think about.”

England’s Test tour of New Zealand