SYDNEY: Australia coach Andrew McDonald says Ben Stokes has “a lot of good cricket left in him” and believes England’s new Test coach should lure him of international retirement for the Ashes.
The all-rounder called it quits in extraordinary fashion during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in late June, making his exit public on the fourth afternoon.
The bombshell announcement came after he returned to duty following the fall-out from a London nightclub incident also involving teammate Gus Atkinson earlier that month. Brendon McCullum was sacked soon after as England’s red-ball coach.
McDonald, whose side travel to England for the latest instalment of the Ashes next year, said Stokes still had plenty to offer and his return would be an ideal storyline for the series.
“The fairytale would be that he comes back out of retirement and takes on one more Ashes and builds a lot of hype on the way in,” McDonald told Australian radio station SEN late Wednesday.
“If you’re looking at promoting that series, that’s probably the angle that you would want, that he comes out of retirement.
“To me, he’s still got a lot of good cricket left in him,” he added.
“It’ll be a fascinating watch. I think that whoever the new head coach that comes in potentially has a conversation with him.”
Stokes, who is still playing at domestic level for Durham, is only 35.
By comparison, Australia could field as many five players in their Test against Bangladesh next month who are older — Nathan Lyon (38), Steve Smith and Scott Boland (both 37), Mitchell Starc (36) and Josh Hazlewood (35).
“We don’t know why Ben left. I don’t think there’s been anything on the record around the definitive reason as to why,” added McDonald.
“He may have just called it a day on Test cricket, and that’s it, so there might be a full stop there. Or there might be an opportunity for that new head coach to potentially twist his arm and bring him back in.”
Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2026
