Ben Stokes’ stunning announcement on Sunday has left England searching for far more than a new Test captain. They must also find a world-class all-rounder and replace one of the most uncompromising voices in the dressing room.
The 35-year-old’s sudden departure leaves Rob Key and Brendon McCullum with little time to act before England’s next Test series against Pakistan begins in August. They may also feel fortunate to have avoided consequences themselves after presiding over a side whose form has deteriorated sharply.
Just how damaging was this defeat?
Consider the history: England had never before lost a three-match home series after taking a 1-0 lead. They also had not been beaten at home in a series of more than two Tests since 2012. New Zealand are a capable opponent, but the final-day run-outs of Joe Root and Josh Tongue at Trent Bridge captured the disarray now surrounding England’s Test side, with Australia due to arrive in a year’s time to defend the Ashes.
The result leaves England facing a long list of urgent issues. Here, Daily Mail Sport Cricket Correspondent LAWRENCE BOOTH addresses the biggest questions.
Ben Stokes’ surprise retirement from international cricket has created a major void for England
Rob Key and Brendon McCullum remain in post despite a turbulent 12 months for England
Who will be England’s next Test captain?
Stokes endorsed Harry Brook ‘100 per cent’ to succeed him after he signed off with a 160-run defeat by New Zealand in Nottingham, but England’s reluctance to promote Brook from the vice-captaincy when Stokes was missing at the Oval may provide the strongest clue to the management’s thinking.
Root is no one’s idea of a master strategist, but he relished working with Brendon McCullum before and during the second Test, and he gets on well with Brook, who would have no issue with Root holding the fort for the 15 Tests England will play through to the end of the 2027 Ashes.
The ECB rightly believe that no one should lead England in all three formats – another reason why Root may work as a bridging tactic. If Brook takes over the Test job in time for the 2027-28 winter, he can continue to build on his successful relationship as white-ball captain with McCullum all the way through until next year’s 50-over World Cup in southern Africa.
And he could then pass on the white-ball job to Jacob Bethell, who is regarded by England as a captain-in-the-making, but who at 22 is still working out his game.
Asked whether he thought Brook – who leads England in the first T20 international against India at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday – should be Stokes’s immediate successor, McCullum danced round the subject, saying: ‘We’ll be having those conversations in the next few days.’
Harry Brook (centre) is the leading candidate to replace Stokes as he is England vice-captain and white-ball skipper, while Jacob Bethell (right) also has experience with the armband
Joe Root came back in as captain for the Oval Test but is not a long-term solution
What about the futures of McCullum and Key?
Despite all the rumours, it seems there is little appetite for change at the ECB, especially after the upheaval of the last few weeks.
McCullum’s hand was strengthened by the board’s belief that he has evolved and adapted after the Ashes debacle – a belief they argue was confirmed by England’s first-Test win on a tricky surface at Lord’s.
He is not being held responsible for the defeat at the Oval, which the ECB believe rests on Stokes’s shoulders, while England were unlucky to lose a crucial toss at Trent Bridge. Less than an hour after Monday’s defeat, he said he had no intention of stepping down. He added: ‘This project isn’t finished yet.’
Key, meanwhile, has faced pressure because of the failure to properly convey the details of the post-Ashes curfew to the players. But nothing has emerged from the ECB over the past week and more to suggest his job is under threat.
Will more details emerge about Stokes’s decision to retire?
The conspiracy theorists have had a field day ever since the news emerged 15 minutes before the tea break on the fourth afternoon in Nottingham. Did he want to hijack his final appearance by way of an up yours to the ECB following their handling of the Rex Rooms saga? And was the way he batted, thrashing 30 off 20 balls as opener, one last act of defiance?
In reality, Stokes knew his race was run during the first Test at Lord’s. His mini-exile after the curfew breach did not help his state of mind, and he was upset that aspects of his state of mind leaked to the media. But while he admitted the saga had ‘maybe contributed a little bit’, he also insisted: ‘It was not the overriding factor.’
Above all, he fell out of love with the relentless demands and non-stop scrutiny of international cricket – a realisation that was brought home to him by his return to action with Durham. But he stressed: ‘One way or another, this day was always going to happen.’ Stokes did not need to have a beef with the ECB to persuade him he was finished.
How will England balance the side against Pakistan?
As they discovered in Stokes’s absence at the Oval, England feel a man down whenever he is missing. Surrey’s Sam Curran may be the closest to a like-for-like replacement – a seamer capable of batting in the top six – but he has played only 11 first-class matches since August 2021.
England could also achieve balance by picking Leicestershire’s leg-spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed, who at 21 has already won five Test caps. That would involve ending the ongoing experiment with Shoaib Bashir, but it would strengthen the batting. In reality, though, there is no one like Stokes.
Sam Curran might offer the best option as an all-rounder, but he has played 11 first-class matches in the last five years
The Ashes are just a year away and England need to get themselves back in shape to regian the urn for the first time since 2015
Will Stokes play again?
One bookie was offering odds of 2/1 against his return as Test captain to take on Australia next summer, but the idea was greeted with a smile by Stokes.
‘I know it’s the Ashes next year,’ he said, ‘but I’ll probably be watching it in a hospitality box somewhere.’
Who emerged from the New Zealand series in credit?
Ben Duckett put a horrible winter behind him to emerge as the leading run-scorer on either side, but no other batsman enhanced his reputation.
Among the bowlers, Jofra Archer was nominated as England’s player of the series by the New Zealanders, but the gloss was taken off Ollie Robinson’s triumphant return by yet more concerns about his fitness, and seven of Gus Atkinson’s 10 wickets came on a helpful surface at Lord’s.
It was hard to avoid the conclusion that, in terms of England’s progress, this felt like a wasted series. And they have now lost seven of their last nine Tests.
