Ben Stokes acknowledged that “burnout” played a significant part in his decision to step down as Test captain and bring his England playing career to a close.
Stokes said uncertainty over his future first emerged before the current series against New Zealand, returned in the immediate aftermath of the opening Test victory at Lord’s, and finally became a firm decision on day three of the match now in progress. “It’s the best thing that I’ve ever been asked to do, captain this team, captain this country,” he said.
In the end, though, the combined mental and physical demands of recovering from a broken cheekbone, coming so soon after his hopes of winning an away Ashes series were crushed in a 4-1 defeat, proved too much.
“The whole Lord’s Test brought back some negative feelings about where I was in my career,” the 35-year-old explained, adding that he had worked intensely after returning home in an effort to put things right.
“That’s what I believed I was doing,” he said. “But I invested so much time and energy into it that, in the end, I effectively burned myself out.”
Reflecting on the end of an international career that began in 2011, Stokes said the announcement left him feeling a mixture of relief, happiness, excitement and sadness.
Ben Stokes says “burnout” was a factor in his decision to retire from England duty
Stokes’ England career on the field ended when he was caught for 30 against New Zealand
‘Everybody I have spoken to about the day it happens, say it kicks you straight in the face,’ he said, of knowing his race was run.
‘It was putting the pads on yesterday, getting ready to go out there, that was that sort of last nail in the coffin.’
Stokes indulged his maverick tendencies to the end, though – taking a wicket with his first ball after the 3.25pm revelation, and later opening the batting to provide his team with a turbo-charged start to a chase of 373 at Trent Bridge.
Roared into the crease on a wave of noise from the near 17,000 crowd, he found the edge of Zak Foulkes’ bat, the ball flying low to Harry Brook at second slip.
‘Classic Ben Stokes, isn’t it? The most Ben Stokes thing you could ever see. Turning it on like a tap,’ said Joe Root. The pair first crossed paths aged 12 in Cumbria v Yorkshire matches.
Later, he emerged alongside Ben Duckett in a new first-wicket partnership, arriving at the crease through a guard of honour formed by his opponents and umpires Nitin Menon and Rod Tucker and slamming a 19-ball 30 in a stand worth exactly 50.
Averaging 34.46 with the bat and 30.98 with the ball, he goes down in history as one of only two Test cricketers along with South African Jacques Kallis to hit 7,000 runs and claim 250 wickets.
The bombshell news came only days after he returned to lead the team, having missed the 253-run defeat at the Oval while under investigation by the Cricket Regulator and ECB for a post-midnight incident in a Chelsea nightclub in the aftermath of first Test victory at Lord’s.
Stokes informed his England team-mates before play that he will retire from international cricket after the fourth Test against New Zealand
Stokes took the wicket of Zak Foulkes just minutes after his decision was made public
Stokes told Root of his decision on Saturday night and shared it with the rest of the team before play on the fourth day in an emotional dressing room address, saying: ‘Reasons can wait.’
Adding: ‘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. The only thing that I ask, please, is can everyone else please 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 – give everything for the last two days.’
Clearly trying to inspire one more amazing performance from his players as a send-off, he finished by saying: ‘The only thing I want is just for everyone to give it, not only for me, selfishly, but also for this team and everything else that we’ve got going forward for you blokes.
‘All the taps on the arse, all the emotion, all that kind of stuff, please can it just wait until the end of this game? Because we’ve still got a shitload more work to do, and I’ve got a shitload more work to do that I want to do.
‘Let’s just go out there and f***ing give absolutely everything for another two days, alright? Because that’s my only intention and that’s where all my energy is right now. Got the emotional side out of it, but now it’s time to work. And everyone else, please just come with me.’
Stokes has been one of England’s most accomplished match winners, hitting a dramatic, 84 not out in the 2019 World Cup final and another unbeaten half-century to get his team over the line in winning the Twenty20 World Cup final in Australia three years later.
Weeks after the Super Over success over New Zealand at Lord’s, he completed one of Test cricket’s greatest heists in guiding England to a one-wicket success over Australia in the 2019 Ashes at Headingley, scoring 74 of the final 76 runs required alongside Jack Leach, finishing on 135 not out.
The departing England captain was mobbed by his team-mates after taking the wicket
Stokes – who refused to look beyond this series-deciding contest in the pre-match press conference, saying that all his focus was on this particular week – also had a transformative influence on England’s results after succeeding his close friend Joe Root as Test captain four years ago, starting the Bazball era with 10 wins in 11 and winning 24 of 43 matches to date.
‘Ben’s contribution to the game transcends cricket. He’s one of those players that each time he stepped into the arena, his energy and determination meant he had the potential to change the course of the match,’ said England coach Brendon McCullum.
‘May the next chapter for Ben Stokes, be as great as the last.’
His retirement comes despite 15 months of a £1million a year central contract remaining, but he intends to play on with Durham, acknowledging that contributing 95 in the County Championship match win over Northamptonshire while under investigation for his post-Lord’s conduct had rekindled his love for the game.
Having withdrawn from the Indian Premier League two years ago to prioritise England commitments, serving a ban in 2025 and 2026, he will now become a sought-after signing for the 2027 auction. Similarly, he could play in the Hundred too.
But he has maintained an uneasy relationship his bosses in recent times.
Last week, despite the Cricket Regulator finding him and Surrey seamer Gus Atkinson had no case to answer for their early hours visit to Chelsea’s Rex Rooms after a 115-run win over the New Zealanders at Lord’s, the ECB reprimanded the pair with a written warning about their future conduct.
They were present when a member of England’s security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
During media duties before the match in Nottingham, Stokes confirmed he had apologised to his team-mates, but was non-committal when asked if he had received backing from the ECB hierarchy.
