The timing of Ben Stokes' sudden international retirement shocked English cricket on Sunday but the final year of his England career has been a rocky journey, featuring a missed opportunity to beat India, a heavy defeat in Australia, several serious injuries and a nightclub scandal. This is the story of Stokes' final 12 months in an England shirt.
June 24, 2025
England go 1-0 up over India by chasing down 371 on the final day at Headingley, vindicating Stokes' decision to bowl first after winning the toss on a flat pitch. It is the perfect start to a series that marks a change in emphasis for England, as Stokes had signalled before the first Test: "We want to be playing exciting games… But it's about winning."
July 14, 2025
After defeat at Edgbaston, Stokes delivers a monumental all-round performance as England go 2-1 up at Lord's, with 77 runs in the match and five wickets - including a 10-over spell on the final day. "Nothing was stopping me," he says.
July 27, 2025
England cannot force a win on the final day in Manchester, despite Stokes fighting through a shoulder injury to bowl an eight-over spell. "Pain is just an emotion," he says afterwards. He had earlier retired hurt midway through his innings of 141, ending a two-year drought without a Test century, and was named Player of the Match for the second time in the series.
July 30, 2025
Stokes' words come back to bite, as his injury - a torn shoulder muscle - rules him out of the fifth Test at The Oval. "The risk was way too high for damaging this any further than it currently is," he says. "It's obviously very, very disappointing."
August 4, 2025
Led by stand-in Ollie Pope, England fall just short of a 374-run target. It extends their run without a series win over "Big Three" opposition - Australia and India - to seven years, but Stokes' focus turns immediately to the Ashes. "Hopefully, all the injuries are behind me: rehab starts now, and the big one's coming in a few months."
November 4, 2025
The ECB announces that Stokes has signed a new, two-year England central contract, which runs until September 2027. It is the clearest indication yet that he intends to play in the next home Ashes series, and he later describes the decision as a "very easy" one.
November 19, 2025
Stokes declares himself "absolutely desperate" to become "one of the lucky few captains" to lead England to a series win in Australia ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth. Their readiness for the tour is questioned extensively by former England players after they play a single intra-squad match, who Stokes labels "has-beens".
November 22, 2025
England lose inside two days in Perth, after a whirlwind hundred from Travis Head. Stokes takes five wickets in the first innings as his quicks blow Australia away for 132, but is left "shell-shocked" after their eight-wicket defeat: "It's quite raw, quite fresh at the moment, but geez, that was some knock. It's knocked the wind out of us."
December 7, 2025
England go 2-0 down, losing by eight wickets in a pink-ball Test at the Gabba. Once the standard-bearer for "Bazball", Stokes dead-bats for 50 off 152 balls on the fourth day and suggests that his team-mates have wilted under pressure, saying: "A dressing room that I am captain of is not a place for weak men."
December 10, 2025
England take a mid-Ashes break to Noosa, the resort town in Queensland. Besides posing for some pictures on the beach, Stokes keeps a relatively low profile and invites his team-mates for runs to maintain their fitness. The tourists instead spend hours drinking at the town's bars and footage later emerges of Ben Duckett slurring his words at the end of a night out. England's drinking culture and general sloppiness become a major focus for the rest of the tour.
December 21, 2025
Australia win in Adelaide to complete a series victory inside 11 days. As Stokes digs in for 83 off 198 in the first innings, it becomes increasingly clear that he and Brendon McCullum - who had called for "more conviction" in England's attacking style - are no longer on the same page; Pat Cummins says that he was "pretty happy" with Stokes' decision to "shut up shop" in extreme heat on the second day.
January 8, 2026
After a two-day win in Melbourne, England lose again in Sydney and Stokes limps out of the final Test with a right adductor injury. He blames their 4-1 defeat on "too much 3/10 cricket" and says that England have become predictable, suggesting that they need a "recalibration" and warning his team-mates that he has "a ruthless side to me".
February 5, 2026
Stokes sustains a serious facial injury, taking his eye off a nets session as academy player Robbie Bowman inadvertently hits a ball straight at him. He is rushed to hospital and requires facial surgery, delaying his plans to play for Durham early in the County Championship season. He later reveals: "It could have been way, way worse."
March 5, 2026
Under Harry Brook's captaincy, England fall just short in their run chase against India in the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Mumbai. The campaign - and England's tour to Sri Lanka beforehand - is considered a qualified success, effectively saving McCullum's job as head coach.
March 23, 2026
ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirms that Stokes, McCullum and Rob Key will keep their jobs despite England's defeat in Australia in a press conference at Lord's. Stokes takes to Instagram, describing the Ashes and its aftermath as the "hardest period" of his tenure, but insists he has "so much more to give" to the role and adds: "I F*****G love cricket, I F*****G love this team, I F*****G love being England captain."
April 14, 2026
Stokes uses an in-house ECB interview to play down the idea of a rift between him and McCullum, but provides an alarming admission that he had been "completely and utterly consumed" by thoughts about the Ashes. "I'd be able to switch off from it for half an hour, and then would get my iPad out and start writing down notes… My gosh, it was pretty extreme."
June 3, 2026
Stokes gives his first press conference since the Ashes, the day before England's first Test against New Zealand at Lord's, and cuts a distracted, distant figure. He also confirms that he will move down to No. 7 after conceding that he has started to find his role "mentally tiring… You bowl a lot of overs, you're standing in the field, you're thinking about captaincy and batting."
June 7, 2026
England win a low-scoring shoot-out at Lord's, with Stokes playing a peripheral role (12 runs, one wicket). He insists that "this is just the start" of England's summer in his post-match press conference, but later admits that the Test match week brought back "negative feelings about where I was with my career".
Stokes tells the press he is looking forward to a "proper beer" with his team-mates in the dressing room, and instigates a meeting with Saracens rugby players that afternoon, which turns into a pub crawl. Most of England's players return to the team hotel before midnight, but Stokes and Gus Atkinson continue their celebrations at the Rex Rooms nightclub in Chelsea.
June 8, 2026
In the early hours of the morning, England security guard James Shaw is struck by Saracens academy player Totoa Avuaa inside Rex Rooms. Avuaa also makes physical contact with Atkinson. Stokes is present at the club, an apparent breach of England's team curfew, but does not witness the incident.
The ECB launches an internal investigation into "a breach of team protocols" and refers both players to the independent Cricket Regulator. Stokes is said to be distraught, and considers his future as both England captain and as an international cricketer, while England's management are furious at his apparent misdemeanour.
June 11, 2026
Key says that England are "not a national embarrassment" as Stokes and Atkinson are left out of the squad for the second Test at The Oval, with Joe Root named interim captain. Key refuses to be drawn on Stokes' future and declines several opportunities to say that he will return to the side.
June 15, 2026
Brendon McCullum follows Key's lead, providing no clear update on Stokes' future. He repeatedly reiterates that he is "worried" and "concerned" about Stokes, casting doubt on his mental state. Stokes has returned to training with Durham, and plans to play in their County Championship match against Northamptonshire during the second Test.
June 20, 2026
As England slip towards a heavy defeat at The Oval, Stokes belts 95 off 118 balls for Durham as if to highlight how much they are missing him. Josh Tongue becomes the first England player to admit as much, and it becomes increasingly clear that Stokes is set to return for the third Test at Trent Bridge.
June 21, 2026
New Zealand square the series at The Oval. Stokes and Atkinson are given written warnings for their conduct but cleared of any serious wrongdoing, and are named in England's squad for the series decider. Brendon McCullum concedes that the team's curfew was not properly codified, and the Cricket Regulator find that the players have no case to answer.
June 24, 2026
Stokes apologises to his team-mates, and holds clear-the-air talks with McCullum at Trent Bridge. He provides a politician's performance in his pre-match press conference, swerving several questions, but notably declines to commit to leading England past the New Zealand series. "I am very clear that I am focused on the outcome of this week," he says.
June 27, 2026
On the third evening of the series decider, with England up against it, Stokes tells two team-mates - Joe Root and Harry Brook - that he will announce his retirement on day four.
June 28, 2026
Stokes tells his shocked team-mates that he is playing his final international match in the dressing room before the start of play. The ECB announces the decision at 3.25pm, and he receives a standing ovation from the crowd when he returns to bowl the 11th over of a gruelling spell. He immediately takes a wicket, Zak Foulkes caught at second slip.
Stokes returns to a guard of honour after the tea break, but does not bowl again. When New Zealand declare their innings, setting a fourth-innings target of 373, Stokes rushes off the field to open the batting. He charges his first ball, misses a reverse-sweep off his second, and is caught at mid-on for a chaotic, 20-ball 30.
England finish the day 103 for 4 after 15 overs of fast-forward batting, needing another 260 runs to avoid a first defeat in a home series of three or more Tests since 2012. "We've knocked a good chunk off this total," Stokes insists, defending his team's approach, before signing autographs for fans and embracing his family.