BEN STOKES has set his sights on joining the “lucky few” England captains to bring home the Ashes from Australian soil.

Stokes will lead his country out in Perth tomorrow, charged with bringing the urn back and overturning a long losing run Down Under.

England have not won a match on their past three tours, losing 13 times and drawing twice, but believe they have the tools to follow in the footsteps of the side who won 3-1 in 2010-11.

Sir Andrew Strauss was in charge back then, one of only five post-war captains to taste Ashes glory behind enemy lines alongside Mike Gatting (1986-87), Mike Brearley (1978-79), Ray Illingworth (1970-71) and Sir Len Hutton (1954-55).

Of those, only Illingworth did what Stokes is attempting over the next seven weeks — regaining the urn from an Australian side who already hold it.

“I do understand how big a series this is,” he said today, two days before the action gets under way in front of a sell-out 60,000 crowd.

“I’ve come here absolutely desperate to get home on that plane in January as one of the lucky few captains from England who have come here and been successful.

“[If we were] playing it down and not really accepting this moment for what it is, I think we would not really understand what the moment is. A lot has been spoken of about the history and how it has gone for England. This is our chance to create our own history and it is up to us how that looks.

“So, yeah, we’re putting it all out there; looking it in the eyes; taking it on; not being afraid of the challenge that we have ahead of us.”

While Australia captain Pat Cummins sits out the first Test with a back complaint, Stokes has returned to fitness just in time after a torn shoulder muscle.

He suffered the injury in the penultimate match of a thrilling drawn series against India, having just returned to the very peak of his powers.

In his final match at Old Trafford he hit a century and claimed a five-wicket haul, the kind of performance that could tip the balance in England’s favour if he can replicate it against Australia without breaking down.

“It’s nice taking a five-for and getting a hundred in the same game, that felt pretty good,” he said.

“I’ve come into this series fully taking on that all-rounder role with both bat and ball. I’ve worked very, very hard, as I always do, to make sure that when I am playing that I’m able to give that full commitment to that role. I know how much of an impact it makes towards the team and how it balances the side out.”

“It all fell together nicely at Manchester for that Test match and if I can do that for five games, things will go all right.”

Stokes has been pushing his body to the limit for a number of years, banking up a huge debt of wear-and-tear in the process. But he recently penned a new two-year central contract, indicating that he is ready to keep doing so rather than take the simpler option of closing out his playing days on the T20 franchise circuit.

“It was a very easy decision,” he said of the new deal.

“I want to eke everything I can out of this body and I will do that in an England shirt.”