Ben Stokes says “burnout” pushed him to retire from international cricket after England’s Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, explaining that coming back from a broken cheekbone too quickly—after earlier heartbreak at Lord’s—left him emotionally and phys
Ben Stokes didn’t pace the Trent Bridge outfield like a man searching for one more miracle. Minutes after the decision went public, he took a wicket with his first ball, then opened the batting for England’s chase of 373 with the kind of aggression that has always defined him.
But by the time the pads came off, the emotion had already been decided. The 35-year-old has now revealed he is quitting international cricket after shocking team-mates and fans during the fourth day of the ongoing Test against New Zealand, saying burnout influenced the move.
“It’s the best thing that I’ve ever been asked to do. captain this team. captain this country. ” Stokes said as he laid out the reasons that had been circling him for days. He admitted doubts first surfaced on the eve of the current series against New Zealand. returned sharply after England’s first Test win at Lord’s. and culminated in the concrete call he made on the third day of the match.
The turning point, he said, was the cost of what it took to get back. He had come back from a broken cheekbone quickly—too soon after his dream of ending the away Ashes in a win had ended in a 4-1 mauling—and the emotional and physical strain caught up with him.
“The whole Lord’s Test to me brought back some kind of negative feelings about where I was in my career and I’d worked so hard from getting back home to try to make things right. ” Stokes said. “That’s what I thought I was doing. And I put so much time and effort into it, I basically burnt myself out.”.
When he announced an international career that began in 2011 was over, he said the feelings were mixed—relief, happiness, excitement and sadness.
The moment it became unavoidable came shortly before play. Stokes was caught for 30 against New Zealand, and he described what it felt like when the reality finally landed.
“Everybody I have spoken to about the day it happens, say it kicks you straight in the face,” he said, explaining that putting on his pads “yesterday” and getting ready to go out was “that sort of last nail in the coffin.”
Still, he refused to let the story end quietly.
After his retirement decision was made public, Stokes took a wicket with his first ball at Trent Bridge. Then. later. he opened the batting to drive England into the chase. starting in a wave of noise from the near 17. 000 crowd. He found the edge of Zak Foulkes’ bat and the ball flew low to Harry Brook at second slip.
Root couldn’t help but frame it in Stokes terms. “Classic Ben Stokes, isn’t it? The most Ben Stokes thing you could ever see. Turning it on like a tap,” he said.
The connection between the two goes back further than this series. Root and Stokes first crossed paths aged 12 in Cumbria v Yorkshire matches.
Stokes didn’t just add energy—he also built partnerships. He emerged alongside Ben Duckett in a new first-wicket stand. arriving at the crease through a guard of honour formed by his opponents and umpires Nitin Menon and Rod Tucker. In that stand, Stokes struck a 19-ball 30, with the partnership worth exactly 50.
His international numbers are already etched in Test history. Stokes has averaged 34.46 with the bat and 30.98 with the ball, and he finishes as one of only two Test cricketers—along with South African Jacques Kallis—who have hit 7,000 runs and claimed 250 wickets.
What made the retirement announcement hit even harder was the timing, coming days after he returned to lead England.
He missed the 253-run defeat at the Oval while under investigation by the Cricket Regulator and ECB for a post-midnight incident in a Chelsea nightclub after England’s first Test victory at Lord’s. Even as he returned to captain once again. the question of how far the off-field noise had taken its toll was always there.
Stokes said he told his England team-mates before play that he will retire from international cricket after the fourth Test against New Zealand. He also told Root of his decision on Saturday night and shared it with the rest of the team before play on the fourth day.
In an emotional dressing room address, Stokes told them, “Reasons can wait.” He added: “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. The only thing that I ask, please, is can everyone else please just do the same?”
He then urged them to drain everything out of the next stretch.
“We’ve got a lot of hard work still to do, and the only thing that I want is to be able to walk off the end of that field, regardless of the result, knowing that I’ve had this group of men – and one lady – give everything for the last two days,” he said.
With the send-off clearly in mind, Stokes pushed for performance over sentiment.
“The only thing that I want is just for everyone to give it. not only for me. selfishly. but also for this team and everything else that we’ve got going forward for you blokes. ” he continued. “All the taps on the arse. all the emotion. all that kind of stuff. please can it just wait until the end of this game?. Because we’ve still got a shitload more work to do. and I’ve got a shitload more work to do that I want to do.”.
He finished with a demand for one final sprint.
“Let’s just go out there and f***ing give absolutely everything for another two days, alright? Because that’s my only intention and that’s where all my energy is right now. Got the emotional side out of it, but now it’s time to work. And everyone else, please just come with me.”
Stokes has been one of England’s most accomplished match winners, and he has delivered in the biggest moments before. In the 2019 World Cup final, he made a dramatic 84 not out. Three years later, he scored another unbeaten half-century to help England win the Twenty20 World Cup final in Australia.
In the 2019 Ashes at Headingley, he staged one of Test cricket’s greatest chases, guiding England to a one-wicket success over Australia with 74 of the final 76 runs required alongside Jack Leach.
Since taking over from close friend Joe Root as Test captain four years ago, Stokes has also helped reshape England’s era. Root had handed over the role, and Stokes helped start the Bazball style, delivering 10 wins in 11 and winning 24 of 43 matches to date.
England coach Brendon McCullum praised him in the language of impact rather than numbers.
“Ben’s contribution to the game transcends cricket. He’s one of those players that each time he stepped into the arena, his energy and determination meant he had the potential to change the course of the match,” McCullum said. “May the next chapter for Ben Stokes, be as great as the last.”
Even with all that history, his retirement still leaves a practical question hanging over how England move on—and how quickly they do it.
Stokes’s international exit comes while he still has 15 months of a £1million a year central contract remaining. but he plans to continue playing for Durham. He pointed to a County Championship match win over Northamptonshire in which he contributed 95 while under investigation for his post-Lord’s conduct. saying the run “had rekindled his love for the game.”.
His limited international schedule is also not the end of his market value. Stokes had withdrawn from the Indian Premier League two years ago to prioritise England commitments. and he served a ban in 2025 and 2026. He will now become a sought-after signing for the 2027 auction. He could also play in the Hundred.
Still, the emotional clarity of this retirement sits uneasily beside the unresolved off-field chapters that have dogged the period.
Last week, the Cricket Regulator found him and Surrey seamer Gus Atkinson had no case to answer for their early-hours visit to Chelsea’s Rex Rooms after England’s 115-run win over the New Zealanders at Lord’s. Yet the ECB reprimanded the pair with a written warning about their future conduct.
Stokes and Atkinson were also present when a member of England’s security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.
Before the match in Nottingham, Stokes confirmed he had apologised to his team-mates, but he was non-committal when asked if he had received backing from the ECB hierarchy.
Now the clearest message from Stokes is that the game he’s left behind for international cricket will not be abandoned—only altered. What changed, he says, is that he burned himself out trying to keep up with the life he had demanded of himself.
In the middle of a Test match, with the near 17,000 crowd roaring and the chase still alive, he delivered one final burst of intent. But the decision itself was already written—on the third day, behind closed doors, and driven by a body that couldn’t keep absorbing the effort.
Ben Stokes England cricket international retirement Trent Bridge New Zealand Test burnout Bazball Joe Root Brendon McCullum