England captain Ben Stokes conceded that his side had done damage to themselves as they slumped to a 4-1 Ashes series defeat in Sydney. 

Despite the best efforts of Josh Tongue, Australia earned a five-wicket victory to conclude a miserable tour for England, who lost the Ashes within 11 days of the series beginning. 

Indeed, Australia have now won at least four Tests in the Ashes on 18 occasions, while England have had only four such series and just one – in 1978-79 – since World War II. 

Australia have also now won four or more Tests in each of their last four Ashes series at home, last failing to do so in 2010-11, when England emerged 3-1 victors Down Under. 

Stokes questioned the approach of his side throughout the series during the "big moments" as he urged "honesty" in the wake of their heavy defeat against their old rivals.

"Teams are understanding how to operate against us as a team. When we seem to get into situations where, with the bat, things look very easy," Stokes told TNT Sports. 

"The opposition are doing a lot of the same things to us now, and we need to work out what we do in those situations a lot better.

"We play too much 3/10 cricket in terms of the chances coming off, and when you play cricket like that, the likelihood is it's not going to fall your way in big moments.

"I've just seen it happen quite a lot throughout this series. I think we can all be very honest as a team that we have done the damage to ourselves."

Australia win the fifth and final Ashes Test by five wickets. pic.twitter.com/tI2I80cdFS

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 8, 2026

Stokes also reiterated his wish to stay on as captain, but conceded his participation in the next Ashes tour in Australia could be a step too far.

The all-rounder's career has been plagued by injury in recent years, and he will be 38 next time England try and win the Ashes in Australia.

"All I can do is work very, very hard to give myself the best chance of going out there and performing for the team," Stokes added.  

"Part of being a sportsman is putting yourself through the wringer, and sometimes you do get injured."

And with the latest Ashes defeat, the futures of Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum and director Rob Key have been called into question.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday that a review into the defeat is underway. 

"I am not against assistance but have a firm belief in how to get the best out of these players," McCullum told BBC Test Match Special.

"I will look at it individually and say, 'What could I have done better?'

"Am I for being told what to do? Of course, I am not. But at the same time, I'm not thinking there won't be areas to improve."

Stokes, however, backed McCullum and questioned the logic of those outside of the dressing room advising those inside. 

"He's a great man and a very, very good coach," Stokes said. "There's more that goes on behind the scenes than he'll ever give away or let out. He's got my full support."