Ben Stokes opens up about the 'hardest period' as England captain in an emotional post

Ben Stokes, the captain of England's Test team, has reaffirmed his commitment to rebuilding the team with coach Brendon McCullum and called the last three months the "hardest period" of his leadership journey. Stoke-led England team suffered a 4-1 drubbing in the Ashes down under.

With England's Test summer at home beginning with a three-match series against New Zealand in June, Stokes wrote on Instagram that he is happy to continue working with the McCullum-Key pair.

"Being England captain is the greatest honour a player can be given and I do not take it for granted. 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," said Stokes while starting off his emotional letter on Instagram.

"The last three months have without a doubt been the hardest period of my captaincy journey. It has tested me in so many different ways and I'm sure every other captain has gone through this as well," he added.

Stokes backed England coach McCullum and said the duo have the passion to take English cricket 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," Stokes added.

The England skipper thanked his fans for their support and promised to put smiles back on their faces when the English test summer begins in June. England will begin their home season on June 4 with the Test series against New Zealand.

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