Coach Brendon McCullum is expecting big things from England captain Ben Stokes in The Ashes this winter, warning the Australians that the all-rounder is ‘absolutely flying’ ahead of the series.

The highly-anticipated Test series gets underway on Friday in Perth, with England trying to win Down Under for the first time since 2010/11.

The home team are depleted thanks to injuries to captain Pat Cummins and fellow first choice bowler Josh Hazelwood, giving the English encouragement that they can start the series well.

Stokes will be leading the charge and McCullum says his captain is in fine fettle mentally and physically.

Although he did have one reminder for his skipper, that he doesn’t have to do it all himself and a big part of his job is getting the best out of his teammates, not n

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