Ben Stokes has quit international cricket and announced his retirement at the end of a 15-year career. The 35-year-old all-rounder, who is also known as captain of the limited overs side, walked away from the series with New Zealand and the England team at Trent Bridge as an innings when he felt burned out after leading England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ era in the past decade since 2022.
Stokes leaves behind a remarkable record that cements his place among the modern greats. He scored over 7,000 Test runs and took 246 wickets and played a key role in some of England’s most famous victories. His heroic innings in the 2019 ODI World Cup final at Lord’s and his match-winning performance at the 2022 T20 World Cup remain etched in cricketing history.
People came from everywhere around the world and in particular Christchurch, New Zealand, where Stokes was born before moving to England as a child. He was hailed as fearless with such passion and with a strong competitive nature and he was able to execute under pressure in all situations. His retirement is also the end of England cricket as he was the only one to hold an unbeaten bilateral series record, and successors to him are Joe Root and rising star Harry Brook.
Stokes’s impact was much more than just statistics. He made England’s Test team more attacking and fearless as a captain with the ‘Bazball’ philosophy. Under his bat, England took a step back from the top of red-ball cricket and thrilled audiences in the entertainment and results side of cricket.
A decision to stop late in a series reflects the physical and mental toll of international cricket. Stokes said he was tired after years of trying to juggle an international role and a personal one. His absence is a big loss in England’s team - both as a player and a leader.
Ben Stokes has left the game and the sport in a way that is at one with his greatest achievement to date and his career can be described as one of the greatest in cricket from this point on. From his match-saving innings at Headingley in 2019 to his World Cup success, Stokes epitomized the nature of English cricket.
