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• England captain Stokes placed too much emphasis on the Ashes

  Ben Stokes believes he has been putting too much emphasis on England's next Ashes series and plans to start keeping a check on expectations ahead of facing Australia.

  England play their most fierce rivals Down Under for a five-match Test series starting late in November 2025.

  But before then, they have a one-off Test with Zimbabwe and a marquee series against India, while their finale in New Zealand begins on December 13.

  Captain Stokes conceded he has mainly been looking a little too far ahead.

  In quotes reported by BBC Sport, the all-rounder said: "In interviews in the summer and stuff like that a lot was pointed towards the Ashes, which was a long way away.

  "You do always have one eye on that but we have six more Tests before that.

  "It's just making sure I keep my focus on being in the here and now and what we've got coming up, and when the Ashes is our next series, then we will focus on it.

  "Through my own fault I maybe spoke a little too much about the Ashes and putting too much emphasis on that series considering how much cricket we had to play before that.

  "Every Englishman and Australian knows the Ashes is a big series for both teams, but toning down on the expectations on that series is something I will be better at in the build-up.

  "In leadership roles, you can differ from where you first started and think that's the right thing to be saying or be thinking about, which then takes you away from what has been a successful mindset. It's a learning curve as a leader, I guess."

  Stokes and the England decision-makers opted to blood new talent this year, with Jamie Smith chosen as first-choice wicketkeeper, Shoaib Bashir as primary spinner instead of Jack Leach, while veteran James Anderson retired from five-day duty, albeit the decision was almost made for him.

  "We had to make some decisions around what we think is best for the team going into that Ashes series. We want to go out there and we want to get that urn back," Stokes added.

  England are looking to complete a series whitewash of New Zealand when they face the Black Caps on Wellington in the upcoming third Test.

• India players 'not scarred' by Australia thrashing, insists Rohit

  India captain Rohit Sharma insisted his side's thrashing against Australia in their second Test will not leave his players with mental scars. 

  Australia romped to a 10-wicket triumph in Adelaide on Sunday to level the five-match series, with Travis Head, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins starring for the tourists. 

  Head's knock of 140 from 141 deliveries in the first innings put the Baggy Greens in control, before Starc and Cummins took 15 wickets between them to seal an impressive victory. 

  Cummins claimed his ninth Test five-for, with only Richie Benaud (nine) and Imran Khan (12) taking more as a captain for their respective nations. 

  None of India's players made a half-century in either innings, while their bowling attack failed to capitalise when conditions were in their favour, but Rohit remained positive. 

  "Firstly, it's not a [mental] scar, it's just we've lost a Test match. We didn't play well enough," he said.

  "It's still 1-1 and plenty of things left in this series, and definitely a way for us to get back into it. I am not going to look too much into this game and start worrying about little things.

  "A disappointing week for us, we didn't play well, and Australia played better cricket than us and won the Test match. We failed to grab our opportunities. We didn't bat well enough, probably 30-40 runs short with the bat in the first innings.

  "There were opportunities when Australia were batting, and we failed to take those chances. When you miss those chances, it’s never easy."

  The third Test takes place next Saturday at The Gabba, with India hoping to replicate their last encounter at the iconic venue, when Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 89 saw them chase down 328 to inflict Australia's first loss there since 1988. 

  "We are looking forward to it. [We have] some really good memories there. We want to start well and play well. There's not much time in between as well," he said. 

  "You know we just want to go out there and think about what we did right in Perth, and also what we did last time when we were here."

• 'Pumped up' Cummins delighted to see Australia back to their best

  Australia were "back to their best" in the second Test against India as they sealed a dominant 10-wicket win in Adelaide, so says Pat Cummins.

  Australia were 1-0 down in the Border-Gavaskar series following a heavy 295-run defeat from the first Test in Perth.

  But Cummins' side were in control from the very first ball, when Mitchell Starc, who took 6-48 in the first innings, dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal, and they never looked back, wrapping up the victory within three days.

  The Australian captain took a five-for in India's second innings, and belies his side returned to their level which saw them crowned ICC World Test champions last year.

  He said: "This week we were back to our best, the team I remember and how we want to play our cricket so it's really satisfying.

  "I was pretty pumped up. Probably felt like some big wickets in the context of the match.

  "Especially the pink ball, it feels like the margins have been quite small so maybe just pretty excited – more so than normal."

  Cummins also reserved special praise for Travis Head, whose magnificent innings of 140 helped take the game out of reach for India.

  "The game could have gone either way when Travis went out to bat but he shifted the momentum," he said.

  "The ball does a bit more under lights but the big thing was getting a big lead."

  Head hailed his captain for creating an environment which allowed him to perform.

  He said: "It was nice to get some runs again. I felt like I was in good form.

  "Pat gives me great confidence and I felt it was a great opportunity against the second new ball, so I tried to get as many as I could, and I managed to get the ball rolling."

  The five-match series resumes on December 14 in Brisbane.