England captain Ben Stokes announced on Sunday that he will retire from international cricket after the ongoing third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, bringing an end to a 15-year career.The announcement came as Stokes was midway through his bowling overs. England Cricket has issued a statement confirming that the 35-year-old will step away from international cricket after the Test.
Stokes missed the second England Test after being involved in an incident in a London nightclub. Before returning to captain the team at Nottingham, he had only referred to captaining the team “this week”.He informed his England teammates of his decision before the start of the fourth day of the crucial Test against New Zealand.Speaking in the dressing room, an emotional Stokes said: “The reasons can wait, why, but I’ve made many trips to the well before for this team, for you guys, for the people beforehand and I’ve got one more trip to make.
“The only thing I ask please is that everyone can do the same.”“We have a lot of hard work to do and the only thing I want is to be able to walk out of this stadium, regardless of the score, knowing that I made this group give everything the last two days.
“That’s the only thing I want, for everyone to give it not only for me, selfishly, but also for this team.“I’ve got the emotional side of it. Now it’s time to get to work. Please, everyone come with me.”For Stokes, the decision brings an end to a 15-year international career which included some of England’s most memorable cricketing moments.In the summer of 2019, he played one of the defining innings of his career, scoring 84 as England won their first ODI World Cup, beating New Zealand in a final widely regarded as one of the greatest matches in cricket history.Just six weeks later, Stokes produced another role that has become part of Ash’s folklore. His unbeaten 135 at Headingley guided England to a remarkable one-wicket victory over Australia, almost single-handedly keeping the series alive.