England head coach Brendon McCullum reveals he tried to stop Ben Stokes from retiring, says…

Few days back, fans received a shocking update as star player and former England captain Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket. Ben Stokes was an asset for the England team as he helped them to win crucial matches with his brilliance and impressive leadership and performances as a player.

Ben Stokes delivers heartfelt farewell speech ahead of final test

“There’s something that I know is going to happen over the next two days. These are my last two days as your captain and my last two days representing England. Reasons can wait. I’ve had many trips to the well before for this team, for you blokes, for people beforehand, and I’ve got one more trip to do.“

“The only thing that I ask, please, is can everyone please just do the same? We’ve got a lot of hard work still to do, and the only thing that I want is to be able to walk off the end of that field regardless of the result, knowing that I’ve had this group of men, and one lady, give everything for the last two days, and the only thing I want is just for everyone to give it, not only for me selfishly, but also for this team, and everything else that we’ve got going forward for you blokes. All the taps on the arse (sic), all the emotion, all that kind of stuff, please can we just wait for the end of this game? Because we’ve still got shitload more work to do. And I’ve got a shitload more work to do that I want to do, so… Let’s just go out there and f**king give absolutely everything for another two days,” Stokes added.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

Also Read: Ben Stokes’ farewell ends in disaster as New Zealand clinch historic England series

Brendon McCullum opens up on Ben Stokes’ retirement

After his retirement, former New Zealand star and England head coach Brendon McCullum tried to convince Ben Stokes to change his mind about retiring from international cricket, but the England captain had already made his final decision. “tried to talk him down.”

“When he confirmed to me that he was going to retire, first I tried to talk him down (laughs) and… (it) became pretty obvious that he had made his decision and he was at peace within,” McCullum said.

“From that point of view, I guess your emotion then leads on to just a bit of sadness really because you have been on this journey together for four years and it’s been a real thrill. I feel very privileged that I’ve been able to work intimately with Stokesy throughout that and consider him a friend, a good friend.“

“He is a leader of men, people follow him wherever he goes, whether that’s on the field, whether that’s in the dressing room, whether that’s at the team hotel, people follow him because he’s a vivacious character and he’s a big presence and he has conviction in his thoughts and his methods.“

“In a game of cricket, which has so many variables and inconsistencies, that is one level of consistency that he brings…he truly believes in every situation. I think that adds a real sense of calm to a lot of people around him,” he said.

“So we are going to miss Ben, we’re going to miss that presence, we’re going to miss his leadership and his performance and it is difficult to replace someone like that.“

“I was quite strong in my opinions that I thought we should get it out there when we could because I think he’s been a cricketer that’s been able to transcend the sport into other aspects of society and the popularity throughout society,” he said.

“I felt that the people that have supported Ben and this cricket team over the last 13 years since he’s been involved, deserve the opportunity to say goodbye and to show their appreciation for how much he means to them with one final walk out there.“

“Ben Stokes was very much his own type of leader which we all adored. There will need to be some work put in there but that’s just the nature of things. No one can play forever, no one can captain forever. We want to celebrate Stokes’ time as our captain of his career and then in time we’ll start to think about those decisions.“

“My enthusiasm for English cricket and my commitment to English cricket has never wavered. I’ve got a firm belief in the direction that this team can go,” he said.

“We still have an identity about us but we want to continue to furnish and harness that to get us in a direction that we are the team that we want to be and that we want to represent the people of this country,” he added.

Also Read: Joe Root pays emotional tribute to Ben Stokes after England great’s retirement