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Ben Stokes recently announced his retirement from international cricket after the end of the third Test match against the New Zealand National Cricket Team at Trent Bridge. He made the decision ahead of Day 4’s play in the morning, informing his teammates about stepping down from the captaincy and also finally retiring from all forms of the game.
In a video uploaded by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on social media, he is seen speaking in the dressing room with all the England cricketers present and providing a speech, letting them know about the decision, and he wants all his team to try hard as he wants to do everything possible in his last test match.
Ben Stokes takes up new role soon after retirement announcement
Surprisingly, after bowling and New Zealand setting a target of 373 runs, Ben Stokes has appeared in a new role in his final Test match, as he opens the innings, alongside Ben Duckett. Emilio Gay was handed the order and looked to understand what was going on as he walked away slowly. Stokes, who has opened twice in his Test career, did not take the strike.
In 2024, while opening, he played a fiery, unbeaten knock of 28-ball 57 in a chase against the West Indies at Edgbaston. Yet again, he opened against the same opponents in 2020, hitting an unbeaten 57-ball 78. The England captain will look to play a similar kind of innings in his final Test match.
Ben Stokes enters elite list of players
Stokes has established himself as one of the most adaptable cricketers of all time. During his 15-year Test career, he became the first Englishman to bat at every position from one to eleven. Apart from Ben Stokes, only three players in the history of Test cricket have successfully batted at all 11 positions across their careers: Wilfred Rhodes, Vinood Mankad, and Sydney Gregory.
Previously, England chased down the target of 299 runs against the Black Caps, Jonny Bairstow smashed a blistering 136 off 92 balls (including a 77-ball century), while captain Stokes contributed an unbeaten 75. If they chase down 373, it will be their highest successful run chase at this very ground.
Ben Stokes joins Jacques Kallis
Stokes returned to the side and created history after becoming only the second cricketer to own a double of 7,000-plus runs and 250-wickets in Test cricket, joining hands with former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis.
Ben Stokes was dropped from the second Test match after his physical altercation with a former Rugby player outside a nightclub; he, along with pacer Gus Atkinson were suspended from the team.
He played crucial roles in several of the country's most famous victories, including his undefeated 84 in the 2019 ODI World Cup final against New Zealand and his incredible 149 not out at Headingley later that summer in the Ashes. In his final innings, he scored 30 off 20 deliveries. He has been dismissed by Zak Foulkes.
