Stokes needs love from England after Pakistan, says McCullum

England head coach Brendon McCullum has urged the team to “wrap our arms around” Test captain Ben Stokes following defeat to Pakistan.

Since a 3-0 whitewash of the West Indies in July, Stokes has experienced arguably his most challenging spell as skipper.

He suffered a badly torn hamstring during a rare outing in The Hundred, forcing him out of an entire series against Sri Lanka and the innings win in the first Test at Multan.

Having finally completed a demanding rehabilitation programme, he returned in time for Pakistan to hit back with two heavy victories on turning wickets. 

Stokes’s own talismanic qualities deserted him as he managed just 53 runs in four innings, and contributed only 10 wicketless overs with the ball.

“We all know how competitive and driven the skipper is, he’ll be hurting right now with how the series has unfolded,” said McCullum.

“He’s disappointed, but he’s our skipper and we know he’s tough. He’ll make sure he comes back and it’s our job to make sure we wrap our arms around him and help him along the way. It’s my job to make sure I’m there to support him.

“That injury was quite a significant injury and he had to work incredibly hard to get back. He put in a lot of graft there and subconsciously that can…not cloud things, but maybe you’re not quite as screwed down as you can be in terms of decision-making.

“Sometimes as leaders if you do suffer a little bit of disappointment yourself it can be very easy to allow that to permeate through in your messaging to the group. But one thing since Stokesy came on board as captain, he’s been very clear and precise about how he wants his team to play. 

“I think what’s really important is to never flinch with that: stay true to it, even if you’re struggling yourself.”