“It would be a fairy tale if Stokes came out of retirement for the Ashes,” says Australia coach Andrew McDonald

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald feels it would be a “fairytale” if Ben Stokes comes out of retirement and features in the next Ashes series, which will be played in June-August 2027 in England. Stokes made a hasty exit from the Test side after the home Tests against New Zealand – which ended up being the first home series England lost under the captain-coach duo of Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

“I think the fairy tale will be that he comes out of retirement and faces another Ash and creates a lot of noise his way,” the Australia coach told a radio station. Sin On Wednesday (July 29). “If you’re looking to pitch this series, that’s probably the angle you want, which is for him to come out of retirement.”

Stokes’ retirement came in the wake of a new round of controversy that led to his suspension for the second Test of the three-match series. After a huge win in the series opener at Lord’s, Stokes was present at a late-night bar brawl in which a member of the team’s security was injured. Stokes was not personally involved in the brawl but he and Gus Atkinson were out in the pub and were seen breaching a recently imposed team curfew.

The pair were suspended for the second Test but returned for the final, before which Stokes apologized to his teammates. During that match, he announced that it would be his last. And then, Brendon McCollum – Who tried to convince him to abandon this decisionwas also stepped down as coach of the Test team. Meanwhile, Stokes continued to play List A cricket for Durham, even slamming a quick century.

“For me, he still has a lot of good cricket left in him,” MacDonald said. “It’s going to be a fascinating watch. I think whoever the new coach comes in will probably have a conversation with him. We don’t know why Ben left, and I don’t think there’s anything on record about the exact reason why. He might have just called it a day in Test cricket and that’s it, so there might be a stopping point there.”

Stokes shied away from the idea that the decision to retire was “the best thing for me now”, but McDonald questioned whether McCullum’s replacement could change his mind. “There might be an opportunity for this new coach to twist his arm and bring him back,” MacDonald said.

If not, the Australian coach has hung his hat on an excellent career that has seen some stunning moments involving his side at the other end. “But if it’s over now, he’s had a fantastic career in terms of what he brought to the game, his impact in certain roles and moments in time. It’s going to age well for him looking back.”