Ben Stokes believes the complete reinvention of England's approach to Test cricket is "bigger than results", following his side's historic series victory over Pakistan.
Stokes and new coach Brendon McCullum have revolutionised England, guiding them to eight wins out of nine Tests after taking charge of a team that had won just one of their last 17. And after sealing a 2-0 series win against Pakistan in Pakistan, having only ever won two Tests in the country prior to this tour, Stokes celebrated the achievement while also urging his side to "stay in the moment".
He said: "One thing we do is we stay in the moment. What did [Jack] Leach say – live where my shoes are, or something like that? Basically just always stay in the moment.
"Don't take this kind of stuff and this kind of form for granted. And always just keep the mantra of, 'we're bigger than what we're actually doing at the moment'. What we're trying to do is bigger than results and all that kind of stuff, but obviously it massively helps when you are winning and in the way in which we are winning.
"The guys who I've got in the squad from the guys who step onto the field to the guys who unfortunately miss out on selection are all in it together. And we all really believe in what we're trying to do. It's a very special time to be an England cricketer."
It is England's first series win in Pakistan since 2000 and Stokes hailed his side's "massive" achievement, adding: "Coming into this game, being 1-0 up before we'd bowled a ball, I think we all understood what we could achieve before we started this game.
"We're not naive in the fact of what we know we've achieved here because we know how tough it is. Not just for English teams to come and win here but any team.
"Pakistan are a huge threat in their own conditions. Not for one minute are we going to think it's just another Test series win.
"Beating Pakistan in Pakistan is massive. We know what we've achieved, we know that it's a very special thing in English cricket to come here and win."
