Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have been at the forefront of this current era of English cricket – but a difficult Ashes tour hasn’t impacted their relationship.
The pair have stood side by side for many years, leading the charge for the Bazball philosophy that has brought about mixed results at Test level.
After going down 3-0 in the series against Australia, the finger-point started to go into overdrive and many were calling for McCullum to be ousted as coach.
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Stokes has also found himself under scrutiny in what is his third-straight losing Test tour of Australia and he’s highly unlikely to make the trip in 2029.
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Getty
Despite the walls closing in on the England leaders with one match remaining, Stokes denied the sentiment that his partnership with McCullum had waned in any way.
“No, I don’t think so,” he told media on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve always been very forth with each other. That’s why the relationship that we built, not only in a professional capacity, works really well.
“We are pretty good mates away from cricket as well now, but we have always been two people who have always challenged each other.
“That hasn’t changed on this trip, we do discuss quite a lot about stuff behind the scenes – without discussions, I don’t feel like you get anywhere.
“I wouldn’t say our relationship has really changed at all.”
The 34-year-old also told English media heading into the fifth Test that he didn’t want anybody else by his side moving forward than McCullum.
“There is no doubt in my mind that me and Brendon are the right people to carry on doing this for the near future,” Stokes said.
“I can’t see there being someone else who could take this team from where we are now to even bigger heights.”
Stokes also batted away question marks about his own legacy, which was a topic of discussion leading into the Ashes after previous captains had failed to win here.
England captain Ben Stokes. Getty
“The time for all that stuff isn’t now,” he said.
“We’ve still got a big game to play and we’ve got a big gap between our next Test series … all the legacy stuff, it’s all external.”
England have named a 12-man group for the last match of the series, which begins on Sunday morning at the SCG.
Shoaib Bashir and Matthew Potts are the two possible inclusions in the XI.