Sir Andrew Strauss hails Ben Stokes but questions timing of England retirement

Sir Andrew Strauss believes English cricket will be “far worse” and “less interesting” without Ben Stokes but questioned the timing of the England captain’s international retirement.

News of Stokes ending his England career after the third Test against New Zealand broke at 3:25pm on the penultimate day’s play at Trent Bridge, when the all-rounder was in the middle of a bowling spell.

His intangible ability to seize the moment was amplified when he bagged a wicket with his first ball following the announcement, although England’s helter-skelter batting approach has left them on the verge of a first series defeat at home in three or more Tests since 2012.

Strauss was England captain on that occasion, with the former opener ending his own career, in which he led his Test side to number one in the world rankings, on a low note as they were beaten by South Africa.

While lining up to pay tribute to everything Stokes has achieved during his glittering career, Strauss feels the 35-year-old should not have revealed his plans during the third Test against the Black Caps.

Strauss wrote on his LinkedIn page: “Like many people I was dumbfounded yesterday when the whispers started coming out that Ben Stokes was about to announce his retirement. It was both shocking and perhaps inevitable at the same time.

“This is a guy that has given everything to the England shirt but also has worn his emotions on his sleeve throughout that journey. The truth is that the job just burns you out, especially if you take on as much responsibility as Ben did in the role.

“He will rightly go down as one of England’s genuine greats. This is a guy who revelled in the big moments. A genuine superstar.

“I hesitate to say this but I’m not convinced that the whole thing was orchestrated the right way yesterday – it seems like a huge distraction to a team that was battling to avoid a series defeat and the the cricket in the last session very much had an ‘end of term’ feel to it.

“Everyone has the right to bow out on their own terms, and no-one has earned that more than Ben, but announcing before or after the game seems like a more sensible approach. When you are in the middle of a match, the only thing that matters is the performance of the team.

“It is a small gripe in the greater scheme of things. English cricket will be far worse (and less interesting!) without Ben involved. Opposition teams will be breathing a sigh of relief and there will be a huge vacuum in the England team that will be impossible to fill.”