The wicketkeeper-batsman is one of the key players in the line-up whether or not Stokes is ruled out as a result of his Bristol brawl.
But Bairstow believes the tourists still have plenty more capable of turning a match on its head with a moment of genius.
“We have guys with a wealth of knowledge and experience who can do that with both bat and ball,” he said. “People who can change the game in a session whether with a spell or a fantastic catch or with runs.
“We know that we are going to turn up on November 23 and it is going to be a challenge, but life is full of them and we are excited about it and ready for it.”
They had better be, with Australia opener David Warner likening the series to a “war” and saying the hosts would work up some “hatred” for their opponents to get in the right frame of mind.
“As soon as you step on that line it’s war,” Warner said. “You try and get into a battle as quick as you can. I try and look in the opposition’s eyes and try and work out, ‘How can I dislike this player. How can I get on top of him?’
“You have to delve and dig deep into yourself to actually get some hatred about them to actually get up when you’re out there. History is a big part in this and that is what carries us onto the ground.”
Joe Root’s squad depart in 12 days time without Stokes, who is awaiting the verdict of police investigation into events surrounding his arrest in Bristol on September 25.
And Bairstow admits that a difficult build-up has made him even more determined to grab his own chance to shine this winter.
“You never know what’s round the corner do you? You don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “It can be taken away from you so quickly. Something you have worked so hard for over such a long period of time can be whisked away from you within a heartbeat.”
Those words were not spoken about Stokes for all that they will resonate with his situation. Bairstow was in fact talking about both his father David’s suicide when he was an eight-year-old after a battle against depression, and the end of his close friend James Taylor’s career due to a heart problem.
Bairstow has opened up about both and much more in a painfully honest autobiography A Clear Blue Sky, which is out later this week.
He feels telling the story of a painful chapter in his life and how his family came through it has been a largely positive experience.
“At no point did we want people to feel sorry; it was more a case of this is what happened, this is how we dealt with it, and we move forward,” he said.
“It is pretty much the first time I have talked about it apart from privately. It was difficult but at the same time, things that have come from it have been a positive.
“Why have I told it now? Well there was an opportunity to try and have an impact on young kids and people of any age whether they have been through adversity or not.”
Bairstow has produced a book which is as much homage to his father, who took his own life in January 1998, as it is heartfelt tribute to his mother Janet, who was battling cancer when David took his life, and the way she coped.
“That was one of the major things of me doing it was actually how mum effectively brought us up through going through a heck of a lot of things herself,” he said.
“That should serve to give people a huge amount of admiration for what she has done and how she went about it.”
It is an attitude that will stand England in good stead this winter as they seek to land only the second Ashes win in Australia in the 28-year-old Bairstow’s lifetime.
“It is just another challenge. There are plenty in life that you don’t solve straight away but you keep trying don’t you?”
A Clear Blue Sky by Jonny Bairstow and Duncan Hamilton is published by Harper Collins and on sale on Thursday.