Ben Stokes has scored 183 runs and taken 13 wickets during the 2025-26 Ashes
Ben Stokes is honest about the toll the Ashes tour has taken on him.
"No doubt it's been tough," said the England captain. "When you put on the pressure of trying to perform for your country in a huge series plus all of the other stuff that comes with a tour of Australia, it's been a tough one."
Stokes knows about hard times in Australia. England were destroyed by Mitchell Johnson in 2013-14 and stifled by Covid restrictions four years ago. The all-rounder did not make it in 2017-18 because of the Bristol incident he feared would cost him his career.
This time was supposed to be different. England's big chance in the most-anticipated Ashes for a generation.
