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Quick GuideBen Stokes’ highs and lows as England captainShow![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1623.jpg\")
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The highs …<\/p>\n
World Cup supremo [pictured]<\/p>\n
Without Stokes\u2019 outright heroics in 2019, England\u2019s men would still be looking for a first ever World Cup title. He produced an unforgettable performance in the final in front of a sold-out Lord\u2019s \u2013 and a bumper audience on free-to-air TV \u2013 to bring home the trophy against New Zealand. His 84 not out was a thrill ride, levelling the scores from a seemingly hopeless position to force a super over. He batted again to help seal the deal and spark huge celebrations. Three years later in the T20 equivalent, Stokes came to the fore once more with an unbeaten fifty in the final against Pakistan at the MCG, as England became the first side to hold both men’s white-ball World Cups simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Miracle at Headingley<\/p>\n
Just six weeks after his 2019 World Cup stunner, Stokes put together a batting performance that many experts rated as even more remarkable. After being bowled out for a humiliating 67 in the first innings of the third Ashes Test, Stokes inspired a national record chase of 359 on a delirious fourth day in Leeds. His last-wicket stand of 76 with number 11 Jack Leach, who accounted for just one of them, is already the stuff of cricketing folklore.<\/p>\n
Bazball’s captain fantastic<\/p>\n
Inheriting a side that had won just once in their last 17 Tests, Stokes, alongside head coach Brendon McCullum, lifted the gloom in the summer of 2022 with a heady cocktail of relentless positivity and aggression. New Zealand, India and South Africa were all swept aside as England ransacked runs and chased down fourth-innings targets that would have seemed fanciful under any other regime.<\/p>\n
… and the lows<\/p>\n
The Bristol incident<\/p>\n
Stokes was arrested in the early hours after an altercation outside the Mbargo nightclub in Bristol, following a ODI against the West Indies in September 2017. He was found not guilty on a charge of affray 11 months later, but by then had missed a crucial Ashes series and briefly lost the vice-captaincy. He credits England teammate and great friend Joe Root\u2019s support for helping him through.<\/p>\n
Kolkata calamity<\/p>\n
England were six balls away from landing the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, with the West Indies needing an unlikely 19 off the final over of the tournament. Stokes, who had emerged as a bankable death bowler, stepped up and was promptly launched for four consecutive sixes by Carlos Brathwaite. He cut a crestfallen figure among the Caribbean celebrations \u2013 but would soon bounce back.<\/p>\n
Dropped, then reinstated<\/p>\n
With questions of a drinking culture not yet banished after a chastening 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia, Stokes was stood down along with Gus Atkinson for the recent second Test against New Zealand for breaking a team curfew after an incident in a nightclub. The pair returned to the England XI after\u00a0a disciplinary investigation concluded Stokes was not involved in the altercation that saw two \u201cunprovoked attacks\u201d on teammate Atkinson. PA Media<\/p>\n
Photograph: Dibyangshu Sarkar\/AFP<\/p>\n
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On social media, alongside a video of Stokes telling his teammates the news, England Cricket<\/a> posted: \u201cOne of England\u2019s all-time greatest captains, Ben Stokes, has decided to retire from international cricket at the end of this Test match.<\/p>\n\u201dBen, you have been the most inspirational captain, leader and legend this team could have ever hoped for. We love you so much and wish you all the best in your retirement. England will never be the same again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Stokes has announced his retirement as captain of England\u2019s Test team, and from all international cricket, effective…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-663026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}