England captain Ben Stokes retires from international cricket
- Published
Current England cricket captain Ben Stokes has announced he is retiring from international cricket.
The shock announcement came during the fourth day of the third and deciding Test against New Zealand.
Stokes took over as captain for England back in 2022 and played his first Test as captain against New Zealand.
The all-rounder (meaning he can bat and bowl) said retiring from international cricket is the "best thing" for him.
The 35-year-old cricketer made his international debut back in 2011.
He has scored more than 10,000 runs and taken more than 300 wickets over his career.
And he's regarded as one of the greatest cricketers to ever play for England.
But what else do you need to know?
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He is originally from New Zealand
Stokes was born in New Zealand but moved to the UK when he was 12.
Whilst his dad was a New Zealand rugby league player and coach, his mum was from England.
He first started playing cricket for Cockermouth Cricket Club.
When he was just 15, he helped his club win the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League Premier Division title in 2006.
He's a record-breaker
During his career so far, he has broken records.
He holds the Test world record for most runs in an innings at number six - scoring 258 against South Africa during England's 2015-16 tour.
He also set a new record for the total number of sixes hit in a Test career.
He bowls left-handed but bats right-handed
Stokes is a batter and a bowler - however, he uses different hands for both.
Whilst he bats with his left hand, he bowls with his right.
This might seem unusual, but there are actually a fair few international cricketers who use/have used different hands for each, including James Anderson.
He was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2019
2019 was a good year for Stokes. He was named man of the match as England won the World Cup for the first time with a dramatic victory against New Zealand at Lord's.
He then hit an unbeaten 135 runs in the Ashes Test win against Australia.
AND won BBC Sports Personality of the Year in a public vote.
And he has an OBE
Back in 2020 Stokes received an OBE at Buckingham Palace.
OBE stands for Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
It is awarded to someone for making an impact in their line of work.
It was presented to him for his services to cricket.
