England captain Ben Stokes to retire from international cricket
by AFP · The42Updated at 16.30
ENGLAND CAPTAIN BEN Stokes announced his shock retirement from international cricket on Sunday in the middle of a Test match.
The 35-year-old all-rounder confirmed his exit shortly before tea on the fourth day of the ongoing third and decisive Test against New Zealand in Nottingham, having informed his teammates in the dressing room at Trent Bridge before the start of Sunday’s play.
Stokes was in the middle of a lengthy bowling spell, with news filtering into a stunned crowd as he was about to start his 11th over.
He then received a standing ovation from spectators at Trent Bridge.
And in a moment of pure sporting theatre, Stokes had Zak Foulkes caught at slip with his next ball to spark yet more raucous cheers.
Sunday’s bombshell announcement came after Stokes returned to England duty at Trent Bridge following the fall-out from a London nightclub incident also involving teammate Gus Atkinson earlier this month.
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The pair were omitted from a 253-run defeat in the second Test at the Oval — which levelled this three-match series at 1-1 — for breaking a midnight curfew while celebrating England’s win in the first Test.
Stokes was later handed a written conduct warning but escaped any further disciplinary action and returned to lead the side at Trent Bridge.
Speaking in public Wednesday for the first time since the nightclub incident, Stokes cast doubt on his long-term England future and said his focus was purely on the finale of the New Zealand series.
- ‘Talismanic figure -
Telling his teammates his celebrated England career would soon end, Stokes said in a clip shared by the ECB: “There’s something that I know is going to happen over the next two days, which is my last two days as your captain and my last two days representing England.
“Reasons can wait, but I’ve had many trips to the well before for this team, for you blokes, for people beforehand, and I’ve got one more trip to do.
“And the only thing that I ask, please, is can everyone just do the same? We’ve got a lot of hard work still to do, and the only thing that I want is to be able to walk off the end of that field regardless of the result, knowing that I’ve had this group of men and one lady (fielding coach Sarah Taylor) give everything for the last two days.”
Stokes, captain of the Test side since 2022, has been responsible for some of England’s most remarkable performances in Test and limited-overs cricket since making his white-ball debut 15 years ago.
His unbeaten 84 against New Zealand in the 2019 I50-over World Cup final at Lord’s helped take the match into a Super Over in which England sealed a thrilling win.
And weeks later, his extraordinary 135 not out guided England to a remarkable one-wicket win in the third Ashes Test against Australia at Headingley.
A stunning 258 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2016 remains his highest Test score, with Stokes also having taken more than 250 Test wickets as well.
“Ben Stokes leaves the international game as one of England’s greatest ever cricketers and one of the defining figures of his generation,” said ECB chairman Richard Thompson.
“His performances under pressure, his relentless competitiveness and his ability to produce the extraordinary when it matters most have given me and millions of other fans memories that will endure forever.
“Whether inspiring victory in the biggest moments — not least driving England to World Cup wins in 2019 and 2022 (T20 World Cup) and his heroic Ashes innings at Headingley — or leading the Test team with courage and conviction, Ben has been a talismanic figure in English cricket.”