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England Test captain Ben Stokes has asserted that they will continue to play the same aggressive way in the forthcoming Ashes series against Australia. The 31-year-old feels changing their approach suddenly would make their glorious journey until now worthless.
England are hoping to regain the Ashes urn for the first time since 2015. Their results in Test cricket took a dramatic turnaround since Stokes took over as captain and Brendon McCullum assumed the coaching role. Since the pair came into the mix, England have lost only two out of their last 13 Tests.
The left-handed batter told BBC Test Match Special:
"Nothing is going to change because we've had unbelievable success with it. If we were to change anything from the last 12 months because we find ourselves in an Ashes series, then anything from the last 12 months will have been completely pointless."
When asked whether Australia will be the most challenging team they will ever face, the seam-bowling all-rounder claimed they see them as just another opponent. He added:
"No. It is another challenge. We know the threat that Australia pose, no matter who they are playing against, they are a very good team but we've found something that works and has been successful. That doesn't change with the opposition."
Australia, who have won two out of the last three Ashes series convincingly, will be high on confidence after becoming the World Test Champions. Pat Cummins and co. beat a formidable Indian side at the Kennington Oval by 209 runs.
"I have obviously been through a fair amount" - Ben Stokes on mental health challenges
Ben Stokes, who took a six-month break to cope with his mental health issues in 2021, said his experiences allow him to understand others' struggles better. He stated:
"I have obviously been through a fair amount. That allows me to be relatable to loads of different people. Being in situations in a game or off-the-field situations, I just feel like I can be quite relatable to people if they've ever got an issue."
England are coming off a crushing ten-wicket win over Ireland at Lord's to open their Test summer.
