Ben Stokes admitted the past three months have been the "hardest period" of his time as England captain, but he is adamant the current regime can take the Test team forward.

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould confirmed on Monday that skipper Stokes, managing director Rob Key and head coach Brendon McCullum would all remain in their positions. 

The ECB conducted a thorough review of England's 4-1 defeat to Australia in the Ashes over the winter, with Stokes, Key and McCullum facing scrutiny. 

England's Test tour of Australia was blighted by poor planning, substandard performances and off-the-field issues, which included concerns over players' alcohol consumption.

Key also rejected suggestions that Stokes and McCullum had a falling out in Australia, despite the pair offering conflicting messages during a turbulent campaign. 

And in an impassioned Instagram post, Stokes promised that the trio would learn from their mistakes and look to improve standards from top to bottom. 

"Being England captain is the greatest honour a player can be given, and I do not take it for granted," Stokes wrote.

"It has its highs, and it has its lows, it makes you want to smile, it makes you want to cry.

"It completely and utterly consumes you and feels like it's the only thing in your life at times.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ben Stokes (@stokesy)

"The last three months have, without a doubt, been the hardest period of my captaincy journey.

"It's tested me in so many different ways, and I'm sure every other captain has gone through this as well.

"Baz [McCullum], 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."

England's decision to have just one warm-up match before taking on Australia was fiercely criticised, as was a team trip to Noosa between the second and third Tests. 

Stokes, meanwhile, has not played since he sustained a groin problem in the fifth Test in Sydney in January.

He is expected to play for Durham in the County Championship next month before attention switches to England's next two Test series, against New Zealand and Pakistan.

Stokes added: "I have learnt a lot about myself but the most important thing that I want the fans to know is that I f****** love cricket, I f****** love this team, I f****** love being England captain and I have got so much more to give to this role.

"I'm so happy that I get to do it with Baz and Rob. We all appreciate every single person who supports us.

"We do what we do for many reasons, but one of those reasons is to bring our supporters and fans happiness and a sense of pride, and we will aim to do those things as much as we can in the future. See you all in June for the start of the Test match summer."