England pacer Jofra Archer, who was adjudged England’s Player of the Series, became emotional while talking about Ben Stokes at the post-series presentation at Trent Bridge. He stated that it was going to take him a while to get used to an English dressing room without Stokes.

“Not just as a captain, but as a friend, you know, [he is] someone you can always go to,” Archer said. “Mid-off, mid-on, you know, wherever he is, you can always come, you bounce ideas off him. It’s going to be a big miss. I think the hardest part is going to imagine the changing room without him. Every game I’ve played, he’s been there. Rooty’s been there as well you know. So him being gone, I really don’t want to look forward to it. We don’t have a choice now, but it’s going to take some getting used to.”

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes’ long-standing teammate Joe Root, who played alongside him, said the same, while applauding his influence on the team and the public as well.

“It’s going to be strange turning up in and around this environment, not seeing him around,” Root told Sky Sports. “You’ve seen some of the brilliant things that he’s managed to amass as a player. I don’t think many players can say they’ve changed the way you look at the game. His influence has had on so many different players, whether it be the guys within our dressing room and previous dressing rooms, but also people watching in the crowd, young players, kids growing up. In all facets of the game, it’s incredible what he’s been able to do over such a long period of time.”

Meanwhile, England head coach Brendon McCullum said that he tried talking to all-rounder Ben Stokes out of his decision to retire from international cricket after England’s 160-run defeat to New Zealand at Trent Bridge that saw them concede the series 2-1 as well. However, the Test marked Stokes’ final international appearance, as he announced his decision to retire to his teammates before the start of play on Day 4.

READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

“When he confirmed to me yesterday that he was going to retire, first I tried to talk him down (laughs) and… [it] became pretty obvious that he had made his decision and he was at peace within,” McCullum told Sky Sports following England’s defeat on Monday. “From that point of view, I guess your emotion then leads on to just a bit of sadness really because you have been on this journey together for four years and it’s been a real thrill. I feel very privileged that I’ve been able to work intimately with Stokesy throughout that and consider him a friend, a good friend.”

McCullum also added that Ben Stokes was content with his call and was “hard to turn around” once he had made that decision. He also applauded him, with whom McCullum forged a famous partnership for over four years as well.

“He is a leader of men, people follow him wherever he goes, whether that’s on the field, whether that’s in the dressing room, whether that’s at the team hotel, people follow him because he’s a vivacious character and he’s a big presence and he has conviction in his thoughts and his methods,” he stated.

“In a game of cricket, which has so many variables and inconsistencies, that is one level of consistency that he brings…he truly believes in every situation. I think that adds a real sense of calm to a lot of people around him. So we are going to miss Ben, we’re going to miss that presence, we’re going to miss his leadership and his performance and it is difficult to replace someone like that,” he shared.

He also justified the retirement announcement timing, which was in the middle of the Test, declaring that the fans deserved to be informed of the decision and duly bid farewell to Ben Stokes as well.

“I was quite strong on [sic] my opinions that I thought we should get it out there when we could because I think he’s been a cricketer that’s been able to transcend the sport into other aspects of society and the popularity throughout society,” McCullum said. “I felt that the people that have supported Ben and this cricket team over the last 13 years since he’s been involved, they deserve the opportunity to say goodbye and to show the appreciation for how much he means to them with one final walk out there.”

“My enthusiasm for English cricket and my commitment to English cricket has never wavered. I’ve got a firm belief in the direction that this team can go,” he said. “We still have an identity about us but we want to continue to furnish and harness that to get us in a direction that we are the team that we want to be and that we want to represent of the people of this country.”

“I think those are the conversations we need to have in due course,” McCullum said. We’ve got a few weeks before the next Test series and we’ll have a good opportunity to be able to sit down and start to map out what that looks like. The good thing is we’ve got some good strong leaders within the side and we’ve got some options to be able to utilise.”

“They won’t be Ben Stokes because Ben Stokes was very much his own type of leader which we all adored. There will need to be some work put in there but that’s just the nature of things. No one can play forever, no one can captain forever. We want to celebrate Stokes’ time as our captain of his career and then in time we’ll start to think about those decisions,” he concluded.