Ashes triumph in Australia would be Stokes’s crowning achievement

November 20, 2025 11:07 AM

Ashes triumph in Australia would be Stokes’s crowning achievement

For a player who has pushed England to unprecedented heights, Ben Stokes will strap the team to his back once again and hope to carry the nation to its cricketing Everest: reclaiming the Ashes on Australian soil. The flame-haired all-rounder has delivered repeatedly on the game's biggest stages, securing white-ball World Cups with career-defining knocks. But leading England to Ashes triumph over the next seven weeks would leave few in doubt about the 34-year-old's place among England's all-tim...

Ben Stokes says England will be ready for Ashes opener despite lean preparations

November 12, 2025 10:15 AM

Ben Stokes says England will be ready for Ashes opener despite lean preparations

Captain Ben Stokes brushed off concerns about England's Ashes preparations on Wednesday, saying there was no way the squad could prepare in the same way touring teams of the past had, given the demands of the modern game. England great Ian Botham raised questions on Tuesday about the preparations for the opening test, which amount to a few days' squad training followed by an internal match in Perth before the series opener begins in the same city on November 21. "I don't really know what we'...