Ben Stokes to retire from international cricket after New Zealand Test

England will never see Ben Stokes in a Test cricket uniform again. On Sunday, as play began on Day 4 at Trent Bridge, the 35-year-old captain broke the news to his team himself. “This is my last two days as your captain and my last two days representing England,” he announced midway through the deciding third Test against New Zealand.

Stokes has worn the Three Lions for 15 years. Along the way, he helped England win the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s in 2019 and was instrumental in the 2022 T20 World Cup triumph. He took the Test captaincy in 2022, stepping into the role during a period of rebuilding.

His farewell comes at a turbulent moment. The New Zealand series goes to a fifth and final day on Monday with the teams locked at 1-1. Just days before, Stokes had been dropped from the second Test following a nightclub incident in London with teammate Gus Atkinson—an outing that reportedly saw an England team security official struck by a rugby player from Saracens. Both players received written warnings from the ECB for breaching contractual terms, though the Cricket Regulator’s investigation found insufficient evidence of a regulatory breach. Stokes returned to the squad for this third Test.

ECB chairman Richard Thompson called Stokes “one of England’s greatest ever cricketers and one of the defining figures of his generation”.