Stokes and McCullum joined in 2022 and this tour was heralded as a turning point for their leadership, only for England to concede the series with defeats in each of the first three Tests.
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England won the fourth Test in Melbourne, their first victory in this country in almost 15 years, and will finish the series in Sydney from Sunday (2330 GMT Saturday).
Stokes and McCullum have contracts until 2027 and both have stated that they want to remain in their positions after this tour.
While Stokes remains England’s best leader and will likely have the chance to continue over the summer at home, the positions of McCullum and director of cricket Rob Key could come under scrutiny.
“I have no doubt that Brendon and I are the right people to continue doing this for the foreseeable future,” Stokes said.
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Asked if he and New Zealander McCullum come as a pair, Stokes replied: “I don’t see there being anyone else who can take this team from where we are now to even greater heights.”
This latest defeat extends England’s terrible run in the Ashes series in Australia – their victory in 2010-11 is their only success in the country since 1986.
Defeats in Australia are often the signal of radical changes in England management: Stokes and McCullum were brought in after a 4-0 defeat four years ago.
“We haven’t won here since 2010-11 and things have happened since that series because we think people need to change things, but it hasn’t really worked, has it?” Stokes said.
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“There are a lot of people who sit on top of me. Ashes tours in the past haven’t gone well. But if you do what we did four years ago, we’ll end up in the same situation again.”
McCullum must lead England to the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next month, and a decision on his future is unlikely to be made until after that tournament.
And all-rounder Stokes said he would “expect” to be consulted on any potential changes to the England hierarchy.
“It’s a situation that nobody knows if it’s going to happen or not, but we’re both very interested in continuing to do what we’re doing,” Stokes said.
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England won 10 of their first 11 Tests under Stokes and McCullum, but their results have been mixed since that initial burst of success.
In their last 34 Tests, England have won 16 and lost 16, with two draws. They have not managed a win in a five-Test series against Australia or India.
In early 2025, McCullum also assumed control of England’s white-ball teams. Since then, England have won just four of their 10 Tests, including an expected comfortable victory in Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May.
Explaining the reasons for England’s poor performance in the Ashes, Key pointed to the white-ball series in New Zealand before this tour as a hindrance to preparation in Australia. The former England and Kent batsman said he was not prepared to “nullify” the matches against the Black Caps.
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But Stokes does not believe McCullum’s dual role is having a detrimental effect on the Test team.
“Now he has two jobs to do,” Stokes said. “It has not influenced the relationship we have with this test team at all.”
England have named a 12-man squad for the final Test, including spinner Shoaib Bashir and seamer Matthew Potts.
The tourists will make at least one change to the XI that played in Melbourne after bowler Gus Atkinson was ruled out due to a hamstring injury.
Bashir has not played since July after suffering a broken finger in the third Test against India at Lord’s, and was then ignored for the first four Ashes Tests.
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Durham’s Potts has waited more than a year since his last international match, against New Zealand in Hamilton in December 2024.
“He’s been in and out,” Stokes said of Potts. “He’s obviously had a great start to his Test career with the ball and now finds himself in a slightly different position within the team and in the squad.
“There is an opportunity for someone to come in this week after the disappointing news about what happened to Gus last week.”
Australia could make two changes to its team. Todd Murphy could come in as a specialist spinner, possibly at the expense of seamer Jhye Richardson.
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In training on Friday, Beau Webster practiced in the gully position normally occupied by Cameron Green, suggesting Australia could switch teams.