Stokes open to working "slightly differently" with McCullum

England Test captain Ben Stokes has backed his partnership with head coach Brendon McCullum, saying the two remain closely aligned despite minor differences highlighted during the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia.

Stokes indicated that while he may work with McCullum in a "slightly different way," their core objective remains unchanged.

Both Stokes and McCullum retained their roles following an ECB review and will continue as captain and coach into the next cycle, with a home Ashes scheduled for 2027.

"I'm very confident in mine and Brendon's ability to work together, because we've done it for such a long period of time now. But work together in a slightly different way," Stokes told the ECB.

"The main point of me and Brendon is our alignment towards winning things and making this team as good as they can be. That's always been the thing since we started."

Stokes dismissed suggestions of a rift, calling the idea of misalignment a "massive overstatement."

"As similar as me and Brendon are, we're also dissimilar in other areas as well," Stokes said. "But the thing we both want is to be as successful as we possibly can."

"We agree 95% of the time on things, but those 5% things that we might have different views on, we talk about it between each other and then we end up getting to the place where we want to get to."

Stokes had publicly supported McCullum to continue as head coach after the Ashes, a key factor in the New Zealander retaining his position. Stokes is contracted through the next Ashes, while McCullum is set to remain until the subsequent World Cup.

"With what me and Brendon were able to achieve with the group over a four-year period, I just couldn't imagine doing what we were trying to do with anyone else," said Stokes.

"We're both very proud men in what we do. We put a lot of our heart and soul into this job. Brendon certainly has for the four years he's done it so far, and hopefully we'll still be together at the end of 2027, winning what we want to win."