'I have a ruthless side to me...': Ben Stokes fires warning to England teammates after Ashes debacle

England captain Ben Stokes was left disappointed with his team's performance in the Ashes series against Australia following their defeat in the Sydney Test. The Three Lions lost the series by 4-1 as the Aussies retained the Ashes and stamped their authority over their arch-rivals once again. Though the visitors did end their 15-year drought for a Test win Australia during the series, it still was a poor performance overall.

Stokes, who will be spending the coming months recovering from the groin strain that he picked up during the fifth Test, remarked that he will have to be straightforward with his teammates and have honest conversations with them.

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"How we develop is [to] be pretty honest and straightforward. You don't progress unless you have some pretty honest and truthful conversations. I remember I've been young and I've had some stuff thrown at me that I didn't like, but I can always look back and go, 'I know that was told to me for the right reasons," Stokes told TNT Sports.

Stokes warns teammates about his 'ruthless' side

He further said that he will have to make his and Brendon McCullum's expectations clear to his teammates and warned them that he does have a "ruthless" side to him as well.

"We don't have a Test series until June… That's where it's up to me, up to Brendon [McCullum] and Rob [Key] and the guys who sit above the players to put together something that we can just go, 'Right, this is what we expect.' If people aren't willing or wanting to meet those expectations, then I have a ruthless side to me," Stokes added.

England's upcoming fixtures

Meanwhile, England will now be shifting their focus to white-ball cricket as the 2026 T20 World Cup is right around the corner. They are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka before the tournament for three ODIs and T20Is each, starting from January 22. Additionally, the Three Lions have been placed alongside Nepal, West Indies, Italy and Bangladesh in Group C of the T20 World Cup. They will begin their campaign with the clash against Nepal on February 8.

England's squad for T20 World Cup: Harry Brook (C), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood