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The Ashes 2026-27 is on the line, and discussions around Australia and England are going on as both of the teams are going through hot and cold moments in their recent Test series.
Soon after Australia’s dominating Test match win in Mackay against Bangladesh, former captain Ricky Ponting was asked whether the England and Wales Cricket Board should consider bringing back Ben Stokes to make an impact in the next Ashes.
Ricky Ponting advises England not to let Ben Stokes make U-turn on retirement
Ben Stokes announced his retirement from Tests only a few weeks ago amid England’s home Test series defeat against New Zealand. Stokes ended his Test cricket career as one of the most decorative pace bowling all-rounder across the workload.
There are talks around Ben Stokes’ possible return in Tests with the England National team for another Ashes series. Ponting felt it would be better for Stokes to stay retired.
After the Australia vs Bangladesh Test match in Mackay, journalist Tom Morris asked Ricky Ponting about Ben Stokes’ potential comeback. In response, the legendary Aussie skipper stated that the England cricket team did that in the past. Stokes made a comeback for the 2023 ODI World Cup after taking retirement from the format.
Rickey Pointg explains why Ben Stokes should not come back with the England cricket team
However, with a returning Stokes in the side, the Three Lions had a disastrous campaign at the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India, finishing 7th in the standings. The Jos Buttler-led team managed to claim only three wins from 9 games.
“I know it's been spoken about. I just think that will be so disruptive with what they're trying to create from now until then. They're on this journey now without him, and we actually saw him do it in the World Cup as well, remember,” Ricky Ponting stated.
“He retired from one day into national cricket, came back into that World Cup,p and it was a disaster,” he added.
Because of the past experiences, Ponting expressed that the England cricket team should now consider looking beyond their former captain and star all-rounder. The former Aussie batter suggested the England cricket team perform in the matches ahead to maintain continuity and a set of settled players.
Ricky Ponting suggests the England cricket team move on from Ben Stokes
Before concluding the discussion, in a bold remark, Ricky Ponting said that it will be another drawback for the England cricket team if they decide to add Stokes again with a settled group of players for the next Ashes series.
“So I think they've got to move on, like plan as if that's not going to happen. Try and find his replacement, try and get some continuity with their lineup and that's a challenge within itself,” Ponting opined.
“With the amount of cricket that they play, continuity is a big thing, but they're going to need to have good, settled players leading up to an Ashes series and having Stokes come back for me,e I think would be a disaster.”
.@tommorris32: "Do you think there's any world where there's an SOS for Ben Stokes before the Ashes to get him to make a comeback?"
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) August 23, 2026
Ricky Ponting: "I just think that would be so disruptive with what they're trying to create from now until then." pic.twitter.com/ekwSRjDIGG
