‘I’m done’: Ben Stokes rules out England return after retirement

Ben Stokes insisted he is finished at international level after calling time on his England career in fiery fashion. Stokes has not only stepped down as England captain, but also retired from international cricket.

The news was confirmed midway through play in England’s third Test against New Zealand on Sunday (June 28).

Stokes moved himself up the order to open the batting in England’s second innings, but was dismissed before day four was over.

England went on to suffer a 160-run defeat on Monday, condemning them to a 2-1 series loss, and Stokes says there is no chance he will be returning.

The 35-year-old told BBC Test Match Special: “I am incredibly content with everything right now.

“It is a decision I don’t take lightly. It has taken a lot of time. I am done. I am very happy.”

Stokes bows out with 122 Tests, 114 ODIs and 43 T20Is. He scored 11,321 runs and took 352 wickets across all formats combined.

Stokes’ international career has come to an end in tumultuous fashion, after he was suspended for the second Test against New Zealand following a nightclub altercation and breaking the team’s curfew.

“Again, there has been a series of unfortunate events happen,” said Stokes.

“I am sure over the next couple of weeks we will be able to decompress and say ‘has it contributed?’ Maybe.

“But the overriding fact is that over the last six to 12 months, everything I have done over a long period has taken its toll.

“Being in this role, as good as it is, as exciting as it is, and as big an honour as it is, there are some negative aspects.”

Harry Brook, who is England’s white-ball skipper, has been tipped as a successor, and Stokes is behind him.

“There’s a reason why he was asked to be vice-captain of this team,” Stokes said. “I know that with all the controversy over the last couple of weeks, there were some decisions that were made [Joe Root leading the team], but those were decisions that I wasn’t part of making.

“You’re asked to be vice-captain of the team for a certain reason. I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time and it’s a natural progression. If the captain’s not there or unavailable, then he had to do that. So there’s absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn’t [do it].

“He’s someone who’s obviously an incredible player, one of the more senior players in this group, but we all know he’s a phenomenally talented individual when it comes to his skills as a batter. And if you love a bit more responsibility on the shoulders with this team, we don’t know if that’s going to show any more improvement in the skills that he’s already got.

“Only time will tell, but you don’t ask someone to be vice-captain if you don’t think that they’ve got the skills and the ability to be able to captain the team when they need to. So if I was to be asked who I think should do it, I’m throwing my 100% support behind Harry Brook.”