Ben Stokes told two England players first about retirement plans before Brendon McCullum and Rob Key
Ben Stokes told two members of the England squad about his plans to retire from international cricket before informing head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key, it has been reported.
It was announced during day four of the ongoing third Test between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge that Stokes would step down as captain and retire from England duty at the end of the match.
Stokes was in the middle of a lengthy bowling spell at the time and, in typical Stokes style, took the wicket of Zak Foulkes with his first ball after the announcement.
The 35-year-old then promoted himself to open the batting in England's chase of 373, smashing an enterprising 30 off just 20 balls before being caught by Daryl Mitchell at short mid-on.
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That, then, is that for Ben Stokes as an international cricketer, and he will watch whatever England do on day five from the dressing room balcony.
Their task of chasing 373 appears unlikely heading into the final morning, as they start the day at 103 for four following the dismissals of Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett late on day four.
They still have Joe Root and Emilio Gay - who swapped places with Stokes in the batting order - at the crease, and the out-of-form Jamie Smith to come in, but it would be one of England's greatest chases if they can somehow pull it off.
He told BBC Sport at the close of play: "There's one thing that somebody I spoke to... I said, 'When it's happens, what does it feel like?' It basically just feels like it hits you in the teeth, and you just know. I've had a few of those in probably the last five or six weeks.
"It was up there, yesterday or the day before, I was putting my pads on getting ready to bat. That was the final nail in the coffin.
"I came into this week giving myself as much time, and to experience everything a Test match brings to you, to see if I could really see myself carrying on beyond this series.
"Being back amongst it and in this environment, I can't see it.
"There's loads of emotions. There's sadness, there's relief, there's happiness, there's excitement. I absolutely love cricket. I love this sport, and that's something I need to make sure that I always feel like I'm doing.
"Over the last six months, 12 months, there's been certain moments where I felt like I haven't loved it. My time last week back at Durham, there wasn't a moment when I didn't. So being able to compare what it was like being back at my county, where everything started and people who I grew up with, and to compare it to here, where I've always loved, not to feel like that sense of love and completeness and enjoyment, then you just know."
The two players Stokes told first about surprise England retirement
Stokes, who has confirmed he will continue to play county cricket for Durham and explore other white-ball opportunities, will deliver his last post-match interview following the end of day five - and attention will then turn to what comes next.
Brook, whose day four innings of 21 off just nine balls was described as 'really pathetic' by 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan, is seen as one of the likely candidates to replace Stokes.
Root filled in as captain in the second Test when Stokes was not selected due to a curfew-related incident that also involved fast bowler Gus Atkinson, though whether England would want to go back to their leading run-scorer - or whether Root himself would even want a second, permanent stint as captain - is a different matter.
But their importance to the England ranks under Stokes' captaincy, it has been claimed, has been underlined by the fact that the Durham all-rounder told them first about his plans to call time on his international career.
The Daily Mail report that Stokes was about to go to bed at the England team hotel on Saturday night before personally informing both Root and Brook about what he was going to do on Sunday.
He then announced his decision to the whole team in the dressing room, having already told head coach McCullum and the ECB's communications team upon his arrival at Trent Bridge.
The reason he didn't tell McCullum at first - he is said to have wanted to tell him alongside Root and Brook - was because the New Zealander was already asleep, it is reported.
McCullum and Stokes have had a close relationship during their time as coach and captain, with McCullum stating that the pair remain 'good friends' last week.
It is reported that he had been in daily contact with Stokes over recent days and did not see his captain's decision as a 'complete surprise' when he was informed.
There is no mention of Key, England's under-pressure director of cricket, who has been widely criticised over how he dealt with the nightclub incident involving Stokes and Atkinson.
Atkinson is alleged to have been punched by a Saracens rugby player at a nightclub in Chelsea following the first Test win over Lord's, but the more serious breach appeared to be that both players had stayed out beyond a midnight curfew put in place following talks involving the England management.
READ MORE: Rugby player at centre of Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson nightclub incident
Key would later state, however, that Atkinson said he did not know about the curfew, and it was subsequently claimed by The Telegraph that it was only communicated in full to the players who were part of England's T20 World Cup squad - with neither Atkinson nor Stokes having been named in that contingent.
Stokes was given a written warning over the incident, but was not fined by the ECB as he had not witnessed what was described as an 'unprovoked' attack on Atkinson.
Claims that England were under prepared heading into last winter's 4-1 Ashes thrashing at the hands of Australia had already placed significant strain on Key's position in the eyes of supporters, though both he and McCullum stayed in their posts following an ECB review of that series in March.
Stokes also stayed on as captain too, but will now quit international cricket entirely at the time where the state of English cricket could not be more uncertain.
Topics: England, Cricket, Ben Stokes
Ryan Smart