Ben Stokes has offered a pre-Ashes rallying cry, claiming the chance to join a select band of winning England captains in Australia represents the biggest motivation of his career.
Asked if he had ever been more up for a Test series ahead of Friday’s opening match here in Perth, Stokes said: ‘No, I haven’t.
‘I’ve come here absolutely desperate to get home on that plane on January the whatever it is, to be one of the lucky few captains from England who have come here to to be successful.’
Stokes is trying to emulate Mike Gatting and Andrew Strauss, whose achievements in 1986-87 and 2010-11 respectively make them the only Englishmen to return home with the urn in the last 46 years.
Not since 1970-71, under the captaincy of Ray Illingworth, have England reclaimed the urn Down Under.
They go into five Tests in seven weeks with just one internal, three-day practice match behind them, but with a settled team that has won 25 of 41 matches since Brendon McCullum was appointed coach.
‘What we’ve done over the last couple of years in particular is make a team and a squad that have been able to gel together.
‘One big thing me and Baz firmly believe in is if you create a tight-knit group, not only on the field, but off the field, that’s going to help team morale.
‘Particularly when you come to a series like this, two and a half months away from home in Australia.
‘Yes, obviously all the important stuff does happen out on the field, but you spend so much time away from cricket grounds and cricket fields together.’
England named a 12-man squad on Wednesday, including fast bowler Mark Wood following clear scans on his left hamstring twinge and Shoaib Bashir, in case Australia take off a large percentage of the 9mm grass that sat on the Perth pitch on Wednesday.
In contrast, an Australia side missing its captain Pat Cummins and his new-ball partner Josh Hazlewood to injury are set to hand out at least one Test debut and most likely two with Brendon Doggett deputising in the attack and Jake Weatherald lined up to be Usman Khawaja’s seventh opening partner in Australia’s last 16 Tests.
