Former England captain Ben Stokes has opened up about his decision to retire from Test cricket, saying he realised he could no longer keep pushing his body towards another Ashes series.

The 35-year-old stunned the cricket world in June when he announced his retirement from the longest format during the final Test against New Zealand.

That series had already been difficult for Stokes. He and teammate Gus Atkinson missed the second Test after being dropped for breaking the team’s curfew following England’s victory at Lord’s.

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The incident came after a night out in London, where a disagreement in the VIP section of the Rex Rooms nightclub led to an altercation involving a member of the ECB’s security staff and Saracens academy player Totoa Auvaa.

Stokes returned to play the third Test, but he has now revealed that retirement had been on his mind for some time.

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Why Ben Stokes retired from Tests?

Speaking on the Love of Cricket podcast, Stokes said the decision was not made overnight.

He explained that he had been looking ahead to the 2027 Ashes in Australia but began questioning whether he could physically make it that far.

Stokes admitted that his immediate concern became getting through the New Zealand series rather than thinking years ahead.

Although his Test career has ended, Stokes has no plans to walk away from cricket completely. He is currently representing Durham in the One-Day Cup and is reportedly in talks with the Sydney Sixers over a possible Big Bash League deal later this year.

Stokes wants to move into coaching

Looking further into the future, Stokes said he wants to move into coaching once his playing career is over. He is already working towards his Level Three coaching qualification to prepare for that next chapter.