Nottingham: England captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes gave an emotional dressing room speech after announcing his retirement from international cricket and stepping down as Test captain on day four of the third and final Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
The third Test will mark the end of an illustrious international career that began with England’s white-ball team in 2011 before making his Test debut during the 2013 Ashes series in Adelaide.
In a video shared by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on its official social media channels, an emotional Stokes urged his teammates to give it their all in his final match for England.
Addressing the team ahead of the final two days of the Test, the all-rounder informed his teammates that this would be his last appearance as England captain and his last match in international cricket.
“I know something is going to happen in the next two days, my last two days as your captain and my last two days representing England,” Stokes said.
“The reasons can wait, but for this team, for you, for the people, I’ve made many trips to the well before, and I have one more trip to make. And the only thing I’m asking is, please, can everyone do it,” he added.
Stokes urged his teammates to give their all in his final match, saying that regardless of the result, his only wish was to leave the field knowing the team had given it their all.
“We’ve put in a lot of hard work and there’s still a lot of hard work to do, and the only thing I want is to know that regardless of the outcome, these guys and one girl have me and give it their all these past two days,” he said.
The England all-rounder insisted that his farewell should not overshadow the team’s future and urged his teammates to continue building on the standards they have established together.
“The only thing I want is for everyone to give, not just for me, but for this team and for everything else that we have going forward,” Stokes said.
The 35-year-old asked his teammates to hold back their emotions until the end of the match, insisting England’s focus should be on finishing the Test strong.
Stokes acknowledged the significance of his farewell but insisted he still has a lot of work to think about in his career, urging the team to save the celebrations until the final ball is bowled.
“All the knocks, all the emotions, all that kind of stuff, can we please wait until this game is over because we’ve got a lot of work to do and there’s still a slot of work I want to do,” he said.
“Let’s give it all up for two more days. Let’s go there. That’s my only thought, all my energy now. I’ve let the emotional side out of it. Now it’s time to go to work. Can everyone please come with me,” he concluded.
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