Stokes set for biggest test of his captaincy

ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes believes the next two months of Ashes cricket will be the most important series of his career.

- RORY DOLLARD Cricket correspondent

The latest instalment in one of sport’s most enduring rivalries began in Perth in the early hours of the morning in front of a sellout 60,000 crowd.

It has been billed as a battle that will define the legacy of the entire ‘Bazball’ era and Stokes accepts the hype is justified.

"I understand what this series means in my journey as England captain," he said on the eve of the first Test.