England at Pakistan: Ben Stokes backs struggling batsmen after series defeat

Pope’s support is a familiar feature of Stokes and McCullum’s tenure; A number of batsmen, notably opener Zak Crawley, were retained despite low scores.

Crawley paid his dues to England in last year’s Ashes series with an average of 53.33 but has not made a century since.

He is seen as a player who could perform well in Australia, where England travel for their next Ashes series in the winter of 2025-26.

Stokes denied the current top six are confident of their place when the Ashes start but stood firm in their defence.

“You can’t close the door on everything,” he said. “Then you focus on what you want to do.

“But going back to what I said earlier, there is no doubt in my mind that we have the best six batsmen in England.”

England are guaranteed to make a change to their batting line-up in New Zealand, while wicketkeeper Jamie Smith is expected to miss some or all of the series due to the birth of his first child.

Essex goalkeeper Jordan Cox will replace Smith and could put more pressure on Pope with a good run.

Stokes struggled in Pakistan, top-scoring 37 across four innings. He was dismissed, bizarrely, lbw without taking a shot, as England’s slump continued in Rawalpindi.

“I’m always trying to improve and adapt to the turn or the tempo,” he said.

“The frustration is always there, it always hits hard, but when you have that much experience to fall back on, it’s a little easier to bear.”