England captain Ben Stokes fell for 30 in his last international innings after announcing his surprising retirement from international cricket on Sunday in the middle of the third Test.

The 35-year-old all-rounder confirmed his impending exit shortly before tea on the fourth day of the ongoing third Test against New Zealand in Nottingham, having informed his teammates in the dressing room at Trent Bridge before the start of Sunday’s play, with the three-match series locked at 1-1.

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Stokes was in the middle of a lengthy bowling spell when news filtered into a stunned crowd as he was about to start his 11th over.

And the surprises didn’t end there. Stokes, normally a middle-order batsman, came out to open the innings for just the third time in his 122-Test career after New Zealand set England set a stiff victory target of 373 following an unbeaten century from Daryl Mitchell.

Stokes signalled his intentions with a fierce drive off his first balls faced before he was dropped soon afterwards.

He later lofted New Zealand’s Zak Foulkes, a concussion substitute, for a legside six and the left-handed batsman cleared the ropes again when he slog-swept seamer Nathan Smith.

But a 20-ball innings, also featuring two fours, ended when Stokes slogged Foulkes to wide mid-on, with England 50-1 in the eighth over of their chase.

Published on Jun 28, 2026