‘Toughest time as captain…’: England skipper reflects on captaincy challenge ahead of Boxing Day Test

England skipper Ben Stokes has described the current phase of his captaincy as the toughest ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

England captain Ben Stokes has described the current phase of his captaincy as his “toughest” yet, but made it clear he has no intention of stepping back. The 34-year-old, who has led the Test side since 2022, admitted England have had “a lot to cope with” and stressed that a little empathy from the outside world would go a long way.

“This is probably the toughest time right now as an England captain that I’ll have. I’m not going to run away from it. I feel like I will lead for the rest of this trip how I think I can help guys get through it,” Stokes said ahead of the fourth Test starting in Melbourne on Thursday.

Stokes spoke candidly about the emotional and physical strain of constant travel and the amplified scrutiny that follows a losing streak.

“It is very gruelling, and it is tough when you’re here, there, and everywhere. I know people have got things a lot worse than what we do. You have to deal with the emotions of being away [and] the scrutiny that you are under, in particular when things aren’t going well.”

“Everything just gets heightened, but there needs to be a little bit of empathy towards stuff that people might not quite understand, but I guess if you’re not in it and you’re not amongst it, it is hard to understand that. But just in this moment right now, I think a little bit of empathy from everyone would be not too hard to think about, if that makes sense,” he added.

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Off the field, England have found themselves in fresh controversy, with the ECB launching an investigation after a video surfaced on X showing opener Ben Duckett in an inebriated state during the team’s trip to Noosa between the second and third Ashes Tests. Stokes, however, immediately backed Duckett, offering reassurance and personal perspective.

“He’s an incredibly influential person within this group. But he knows that he’s got the support of myself and the other guys around him as well. This kind of stuff is very … I don’t know if close to me is the right wording, but I have first-hand experience of how this can affect people.”

“It’s never a nice place to be in when not only the media world, but also the social media world, is just piling on top of you. You don’t really have a leg to stand on when you have lost three games in a huge series like this. When you’re winning, everything’s great. When you’re losing, it’s not,” he said.

Despite the mounting pressure, Stokes reaffirmed his commitment to leading England through adversity, underlining that leadership is tested most when results don’t fall your way.

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