At 3.25pm on the fourth day of the series decider at Trent Bridge, a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that one of the most celebrated players of his generation would be walking away for good at the end of the match. Ben Stokes, the 35-year-old England Test captain, had informed his team in an emotional dressing room address before play, telling them: “This is my last two days as your captain and my last two days representing England. The reasons can wait as to why. 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.”
As the shock news filtered through the crowd in Nottingham, the stadium rose as one to give the departing skipper a spontaneous standing ovation – just as he was ready to start the 11th over of a trademark mammoth bowling spell. With true showman’s timing, Stokes did the unthinkable with his very next delivery: taking Zak Foulkes’ edge and sealing a dismissal that earned an instant place in his stacked pantheon of unforgettable moments. The crowd erupted, his teammates engulfed him, and he was cheered to the rafters as he walked off for tea. He was last to return for the evening, with England and New Zealand’s not-out batters giving him a guard of honour.
“Ben Stokes announced his retirement mid-match at Trent Bridge, then took a farewell wicket in a dramatic final Test.”
Defeat in his 122nd and last Test seems certain – England thrashing their way to 103 for four chasing 373 – but Stokes had one final act of ‘Bazball’ hubris. He moved himself up the order from number seven to opener, batting manically for 20 balls, launching two big sixes and swinging wildly through reverse sweeps and ramps. The music stopped on 30 when he dragged Foulkes to midwicket, momentarily chastising himself before accepting handshakes from opponents and another burst of acclaim.
The end of Stokes’s era comes exactly three weeks after a nightclub visit that plunged England into turmoil. He and Gus Atkinson were handed a written conduct warning by the ECB for breaching “specific contractual obligations” after being out in the early hours following a Test victory at Lord’s. Stokes was suspended for the second Test of the series, and was talked out of stepping down by ECB chief Rob Key. There is a suggestion that his dramatic exit is a bid to rail against the ECB suits – a relationship that has been tricky since his infamous Bristol nightclub punch-up in 2017 that led to an Ashes tour ban.
His final words to his teammates, captured on video, hinted at deeper reasons: “The reasons can wait as to why.” For now, the cricketing world is left to wonder what drove one of its greatest showmen to walk away mid-match.