Ben Stokes hails England's 'no fear of failure' approach after his side's historic win in Pakistan

Ben Stokes paid tribute to his side’s ‘no fear of failure’ philosophy after they became the first in Test history to win 3-0 in Pakistan.

The England captain was at the crease when opener Ben Duckett hit the winning runs nearly half an hour into the fourth morning of the final Test in Karachi, and Stokes immediately illustrated the richness of a remarkable few months – which brought of nine wins out of 10 – to a change of mind.

‘When you take the burden off the individuals and the team, you see the players excel and show more of themselves,’ he said. ‘The ambition to win and play an entertaining brand of cricket, which defies any fear of failure. No one worries about going out.

England completed a famous 3-0 Test series whitewash in Pakistan on Tuesday morning

Ben Stokes puts England’s stunning results down to his side’s ‘no fear of failure’ philosophy

‘I remember going out for a duck in the first Test, and Ollie Pope said: “You’re in a good place, aren’t you?” Just accept that coming out is part of the struggle. I think it’s just letting go of the fear of failure that’s why we’ve been able to do the results.’

Prior to this tour, England had won just two Tests out of 24 in Pakistan. In the past few weeks alone, they have added three to the tally.

‘It won’t really sink in until we get home or in the new year,’ Stokes said. ‘But we understand what we have done is quite special – to win 3-0 out here is something to be really proud of.’

And he was full of praise for his relationship with head coach Brendon McCullum after a series in which England outplayed Pakistan on almost every occasion.

‘I didn’t realize we were compatible,’ she said. They say opposites attract, but maybe not with captains and coaches. He takes credit for believing in me. He is straight to the point, and leaves no questions unanswered. As soon as his name came up, I knew he was the best guy.

Stokes praised Brendon McCullum for believing in him following England’s turnaround

‘I’m proud of everyone – we’ve overcome the external stuff, with the pain floating around, and everyone’s working hard. We had been out of the field for days when the bowlers were so tired and out of sorts. big But they rested and then they all came back the next day.’

His Pakistan counterpart Babar Azam suggested that Pakistan threw away the chance to win the series – despite being roundly outplayed for most of the three Tests.

‘Losing like this hurts,’ he said. ‘We had two matches under our control, but we lost them. If we win those, it will be a different scenario. As a professional, you have to accept these things.

‘But you have to give England credit for the way they dominated, and the different ways they played their cricket.’