Retirement the best thing for me - Stokes

Retirement the best thing for me - StokesTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, 'This is remarkable' - Stokes gets guard of honour as he opens battingByStephan ShemiltCricket CorrespondentPublished28 June 2026, 19:23 BSTCommentsUpdated Just nowBen Stokes says retiring from international cricket is the "best thing" for him after he revealed England's final Test against New Zealand will be his last.The 35-year-old, one of the greatest cricketers to ever play for England, made the stunning announcement on the fourth day of the deciding Test at Trent Bridge.It means his international career will end on Monday after 15 years, 122 Tests, 114 one-day internationals and 43 T20s."It might sound quite selfish but this decision is genuinely the best thing for me right now," Stokes told Sky Sports."I hope it's the best thing for the team going forward but I also hope it's what will allow me to keep loving this game that has given me so much."The all-rounder denied the decision was made as a result of events in the past three weeks, when he was made unavailable for England's second Test against New Zealand following an incident in a London nightclub.He instead said he had been considering ending his career since England's 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, and had further thoughts of retiring during the first Test of the summer at Lord's."The Lord's Test for me was something that brought back some kind of negative feelings about where I was in my career," he said."I'd worked so hard since getting home [from Australia] to put things right, or at least that's what I thought I was doing. I put so much time and effort into doing that and I think I just burnt myself out."England set for series defeat in Stokes' last TestPublished42 minutes agoEngland will miss Stokes' winning persona - VaughanPublished1 ho...