England Men’s managing director Rob Key has refused to rule out the return of Ben Stokes in time for next year’s Ashes, saying “anything is possible with Ben”. However, Ben Stokes announced his sudden retirement from international cricket during the third Test against New Zealand last month, stating that he was burned out and “didn’t have any fight left” in him after four years leading the team in red-ball cricket.
“It would be a brilliant story if he does,” Key told Sky Sports News. “He hasn’t [indicated a change of heart], but I wouldn’t be surprised. Anything is possible with Ben.”
Asked if Ben Stokes had made a wrong move with the manner of his retirement, which was announced midway through day four of the Trent Bridge Test, Key said: “No, not at all. Not as far as I’m concerned.”
“I don’t know,” McDonald told SEN when he was asked if he thought Ben Stokes would be involved. “I think the fairytale would be that he comes back out of retirement and takes on one more Ashes and builds a lot of hype on the way in. So, if you’re looking at promoting that series, that’s probably the angle that you would want, that he comes out of retirement.”
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“To me, he’s still got a lot of good cricket left in him. So, yeah, it’ll be a fascinating watch. I think whoever the new head coach that comes in potentially has a conversation with him. We don’t know why Ben left. I don’t think there’s been anything on the record around the definitive reason as to why. But he may have just called it a day on Test cricket and that’s it,” he added.
“So there might be a full stop there, or there might be an opportunity for that new head coach to potentially twist his arm and bring him back in. But if it ends now, he’s had a wonderful career in terms of what he’s brought to the game, his impact in certain innings and moments in time will age pretty well for him to look back on,” he shared again.
Meanwhile, Ben Stokes backed Harry Brook to succeed him as captain when he announced his retirement, but England have instead reappointed the veteran Joe Root over four years since he last held the role permanently as well. Key also argued that the role had come “too soon” for Brook, and shared that Fleming had provided input into the decision as well.
“He’s still developing as a player and as a person, to be honest,” Key said. “The Test match captaincy is the biggest job in cricket in England, and I think that it’s perfect now with Joe who gets the chance to do it where he can now take this ship forward as the most senior player by a long, long way. Harry can now continue on the project he’s done in the white-ball job and continue learning how to become an outstanding leader of a cricket team. You’ve got the 2027 World Cup, all of those things, and at some stage Harry Brook will be an outstanding Test captain of England cricket. I just didn’t feel the time was right now.”
