Ben Stokes eager to keep Ashes thoughts at bay as England prepare to end 2024
They are looking to whitewash New Zealand.
Ben Stokes plans to turn down the volume on England’s Ashes talk, insisting his side must focus on the here and now.
This week’s clash against New Zealand in Hamilton is not only England’s final Test of a busy year, it is also their last overseas outing before an eagerly anticipated trip to Australia next winter.
But, as he surveyed the closing days of a packed 2024, Stokes cautioned against viewing everything as a stepping stone towards the battle Down Under.
The captain had perhaps been guilty of doing just that at the start of the summer when explaining a selection overhaul that saw record wicket-taker James Anderson ushered into retirement, while the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach and Ben Foakes were also replaced.
He suggested at the time that rebuilding a side capable of reclaiming the urn in 2025/26 was the prime motivation but is now keen not to fuel the inevitable hype too early, particularly with a huge home clash against India to contend with first.
“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,” he 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 putting 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. That was a mistake from myself. I don’t know where it really came form….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 success here.
That means they 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.
Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse have proved themselves eminently capable of picking up the pace bowling mantle, Jamie Smith (absent here following the birth of his first child) looks the ideal heir to Bairstow as an attacking wicketkeeper-batter and spinner Shoaib Bashir has 47 wickets in 14 games despite being viewed as a work in progress. Jacob Bethell, just two caps into his unexpected call-up, is already making a case to remain.
“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,” said Stokes.
“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 now 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 are thought to be erring towards an unchanged team for the third game in a row, with a final net session to check on their seamers as well a once over for Harry Brook. The newly crowned world number one batter, a single point above team-mate Joe Root on the latest ICC update, has had an ankle niggle but is expected to be fine.
