Ben Stokes kicks aside Virat Kohli; declares Joe Root, Steve Smith the greatest of this generation

As the Ashes 2025-26 is all set to kick off on November 21 in Perth, England captain Ben Stokes has made it clear that his team has one mission above all, and that is to stop Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith before he takes the game away.

Speaking at the pre-match press meet in Perth, Ben Stokes made it clear that Steve Smith will be the biggest threat for England in this long and high-pressure five-match Test series in Australia. The England captain has showered rich praise on Smith and Joe Root.

Ben Stokes hails Steve Smith and Joe Root ahead of Ashes

Smith and Joe Root are widely seen as the two best Test batters of their generation. England's modern-era legend Root has already amassed 13543 runs in 158 Tests with the help of 39 centuries and 66 fifties, while the Australian batting maestro has so far accumulated 10477 runs in 119 Tests and smashed 36 centuries and 43 fifties in the format.

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They are entering into the Ashes series as the most experienced and successful players, but their records in each other’s home conditions tell a different story. Root has always struggled in Australia, where he averages only 35.68 and has never scored a century.

On the other hand, Smith has dominated England for years with an average of 56.01 and 12 hundreds against them. Well, Stokes admitted that England has often found Smith almost unstoppable, and the team has been working on ways to silence the Australian great.

Ben Stokes reveals England’s Ashes 2025-26 game plan

The England skipper believes that if they manage to keep Smith quiet early in the five-match Test series, it will give his team a solid chance of taking control of the Ashes.

Ben Stokes told reporters in Perth, as quoted by The Times of India, “Not too much has changed because he just gets runs against us, doesn't he? That seems to be a constant—a serious player, and has been for a very long time. He and Joe Root are neck-and-neck, in my opinion, in terms of the greatest batters of this generation.”

The Englishman added, “You always want to come up with ways to try and keep the best players quiet. And that's something that obviously we're going to have to do. It'll be a hard thing to be able to do. But if we can keep Steve Smith, minus all the other guys in the batting order, quiet, then we've given ourselves a good chance to achieve the goal that we want.”

Steve Smith returns as Australia captain in red-hot form

Meanwhile, Smith enters the Ashes series in hot form and with added responsibility as he steps in again for Pat Cummins as Australia’s captain. This will be Smith’s third stint leading the Australian side this year.

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His numbers as captain are incredible, with an average of 68.98 in 40 tests, even though his full-time leadership ended in 2018 after the ball-tampering incident in South Africa.

After taking a six-week break from cricket, Smith returned with a century for New South Wales, proving that he is ready to dominate the English attack.

I'm pretty chilled: Steve Smith ahead of 1st Ashes Test

The stand-in captain has said that he now prefers to stay calm and relaxed while leading the side, letting the game unfold naturally and allowing the players to do their jobs without pressure.

Smith said at the pre-match presser, “I'm pretty chilled. I think I've learned a lot over my journey. The last couple of times that I've stood in for Patty, I've tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play. Obviously, I've got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I'm a lot more relaxed these days, chilled, and you know, let the guys go about their work.”