HAMILTON: England captain Ben Stokes concedes that he has probably spoken too much about next year’s Ashes and is keen that the tourists stay in the “here and now” as they look to sweep their test series against New Zealand in Hamilton this week.

Charged with confidence aft­er taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with convincing wins in Christchurch and Wellington, England begin the­ir 17th and final Test of the year at Seddon Oval on Saturday.

England blew a similar chance for a clean sweep against Sri Lanka at home in September and Stokes is clearly all too aware of the dangers of thinking too far ahead.

“I maybe spoke a little too much about the Ashes and put too much onus on that series considering how much cricket we have to play,” he told reporters at the team hotel in Hamilton.

“But as you know, it’s a big series for every Englishman and Australian. I think toning down expectations around that series is something I will definitely be better at.

“I quite like staying in the present and in the moment but it is quite tough when you’ve got an Ashes round the corner. I think it’s about making sure I keep my focus on being in the here and now. And then, when the Ashes is our next series, we will focus on it then.”

Stokes said he was happy with England’s form over a year, winning nine of their 16 T ests and three of five series.

“We’ve played some good cric­ket and found some extraordinarily talented players who’ve shown they’re capable of delivering big performances on the biggest stage, which is playing for your country,” he added.

England recalled Matthew Potts to replace Chris Woakes for the third Test, with Stokes keen to build bowling depth.

Potts has failed to nail down selection since playing the first of his nine Tests in 2022 against New Zealand at Lord’s.

Stokes said the 26-year-old had a “massive engine” and des­e­r­ved another chance in what will be an inexperienced attack.

“It’s another opportunity to look at one of the fast bowlers that we see playing a big role going forward,” Stokes said. “Two-nil up, you put yourself obviously in an easier position to make that change.

“We want to be giving experience to the guys who don’t necessarily always get the opportunity. We’ve put ourselves in a position to be able to do that.”

It means none of England’s specialist bowlers — also comprising seamers Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson and spinner Shoaib Bashir — has played more than 14 Tests.

A large crowd is expected across the match to bid farewell to Tim Southee, who turned 36 this week and will make his 107th and final appearance at his domestic home ground of Seddon Park.

Swing bowler Southee will bring down the curtain on his 16-year Test career after the ma­tch and while his form has di­p­ped over the last two years, Stokes said the versatile New Zealander remained a force to reckon with, with both ball and bat.

“Tim’s been an incredible servant to New Zealand. He’s achieved some great things out on the field,” Stokes said.

New Zealand Test captain Tom Latham said Southee wou­ld be missed for a range of reasons.

“He’s going to be remembered as one of the greats of our game and obviously the numbers back that up,” Latham said of Southee, who has had stints as captain in all three formats.

“But the leader he is, to see how he goes about things day-in, day-out, he’s always put the team first regardless of what situation the game’s at.”

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2024