England captain Ben Stokes says the aftermath of the Ashes has been the "hardest period" of his captaincy. Stokes is likely referring to the team's 2-2 draw in the series against Australia, which ended their hopes of regaining the Ashes. Stokes and McCullum's messages diverged as the series went on, with Stokes reflecting that England's opponents increasingly had "answers to the style of cricket" they were playing soon after McCullum had called for his team to play with more "conviction" in their attacking methods. Key even felt moved to deny there had been a "bust-up" between them on Monday. Ben Stokes is loving the captaincy journey ! Despite the Ashes aftermath being tough, he's stoked to continue working with Brendon McCullum and Rob Key. Stokes poured his heart out in an Instagram post, saying being England captain is an honour and a rollercoaster of emotions. "Baz, Rob and myself have the passion and desire to take this team forward, we are going to give you everything we have, we know we made mistakes along the way and we have learnt from those mistakes, you learn more from failure than success. Ben Stokes' Ashes series wasn't exactly a standout, but England's management is backing him big time. Despite struggles with injury and leading a young bowling attack, Stokes got support from director of men's cricket Rob Key, who praised his captaincy partnership with Brendon McCullum.