\u201cThe only thing that I ask please is can everyone else please just do the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of hard work still to do and the only think that I want is be able to walk off that field regardless of the result knowing that I\u2019ve had this group of men give everything for the last two days.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the taps on the arse, all the emotion, can we please just wait for the end of the game because we\u2019ve still got a sh*tload to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s just go out there and f***ing give absolutely everything for another two days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news filtered around the crowd at Trent Bridge and Stokes, 35, received a standing ovation from England supporters as he toiled through a trademark bowling spell. <\/p>\n
The very next ball after his ovation, Stokes picked up a wicket and was mobbed by his England teammates to the delight of the crowd. <\/p>\n
Ex-England captain Mike Atherton said on Kayo Sports: \u201cIt\u2019s clearly an orchestrated spell. He wants to go out being remembered for one of those bone-shattering spells that has been made him the cricketer he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stokes received a guard of honour from his England and New Zealand players as he made his way onto the field after the tea break.<\/p>\n
Atherton described Stokes\u2019 retirement it as \u201csome absolutely stunning news\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will bring an end to one of the great England careers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The theatre continued when Stokes came out to open the batting in the fourth innings. <\/p>\n
Set a target of 373 for victory, for a moment a fairytale finish appeared possible when Stokes and Ben Duckett made a 50-run opening stand, but Stokes was out caught for 30 off 20 balls. <\/p>\n
After Harry Brook was out for\u00a021 off 9 balls scooping down to fine leg, Atherton quipped: \u201cDidn\u2019t feel like the innings of a captain in waiting.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngland might go down in flames.\u00a0It\u2019s falling apart for England.\u201d<\/p>\n
England finished Day 4 at 4\/106 and still requiring 270 runs to win. Staring down the barrel of a 2-1 series defeat, Atherton described England\u2019s batting as \u201cfairly self-indulgent\u201d. <\/p>\n
Stokes first casualty of England cricket\u2019s civil war, who will be next captain?<\/p>\n
There had been speculation one of Stokes, coach Brendon McCullum and Managing Director of England men\u2019s cricket Rob Key would fall victim to a civil war engulfing England cricket in recent times.<\/p>\n
The relationship between Stokes and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had soured after Stokes and bowler Gus Atkinson were suspended for the second Test against New Zealand for breaking curfew and being involved in a relatively minor nightclub incident in Chelsea, London.<\/p>\n
Whispers of a regime change in English cricket grew louder as Stokes\u2019 camp suggested he had been thrown under the bus and not all players were directly told about the midnight curfew.<\/p>\n
Stokes, McCullum and Key all kept their jobs after the disastrous Ashes tour of Australia, but the trio\u2019s relationship has appeared increasingly fractured and untenable. <\/p>\n
Vice-captain Harry Brook wasn\u2019t suspended after being drunk the night before an ODI against New Zealand earlier this year, and tellingly Joe Root was given the captaincy instead of Brook for the second Test.<\/p>\n
Stokes\u2019 retirement now raises the question of whether 35-year-old Root will have a second coming as captain, or if the ECB will give the captaincy to Brook ahead of a home Ashes summer in 2027. <\/p>\n
Australia have drawn the past two Ashes series in England and their ageing team is beatable, but the Aussies will feel more confident taking on an England team without Stokes. <\/p>\n
McCullum is contracted as England\u2019s coach in all formats until the end of the next ODI World Cup in late 2027. <\/p>\n
Atherton said: \u201cThe move to give Brendon McCullum all three jobs was a terrible mistake. <\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you possibly plan ahead for a white ball series that will begin two days after the end of this Test match.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an extraordinary, stunning moment and it begs a number of questions,\u201d Atherton said in commentary, questioning the timing of Stokes\u2019 retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy and why now in the middle of a day\u2019s cricket with still a day to go and a match to win, draw or lose and a series on the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019d been some signs throughout this series. First at Lord\u2019s when he looked like a man who\u2019d been leading England for four years. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe obviously missed The Oval match for disciplinary reasons and he has decided enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n