Stokes' retirement cues chaotic finish as England teeter towards series defeat

Ben Stokes takes wicket with his first ball after news of his international retirement; he then cracks 30 off 20 balls opening the batting as England closed day four on 103-4, chasing 373; watch day five live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Monday (first ball 11am)

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>Ben Stokes took centre stage, in more ways than one, as the announcement of his international retirement dominated a quite remarkable fourth day's play of England's third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

>Stokes' decision, and a chaotic few hours that followed, sadly does not mask the fact that England appear destined to lose a first home series of three or more matches since 2012. They head into the fifth and final day on 103-4, needing a further 270 to win.

>The shock news broke at 3.25pm in the midst of a typically lionhearted Stokes spell with the ball that saw him bowl 11 overs unchanged from lunch through to tea.

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>Within three minutes of the announcement, and with the news filtering around the ground, Stokes took a wicket with his very next ball to spark scenes of wild celebration. An 'I was there' moment, the latest in a career littered with them.

>But Stokes was not done there. Once New Zealand declared at 288-9, upon Daryl Mitchell bringing up a brave, dogged 241-ball hundred, Stokes opened the batting and came out swinging from ball one!

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>He hit two majestic maximums, as well as a couple of boundaries in a 20-ball 30, but there was to be no repeat of his 2019 Headingley heroics to sign off his England career as his frenetic knock reached its inevitable end in the eighth over with a swipe straight to mid-on.

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>Stokes was rightly awarded a standing ovation in salute to his remarkable career, as well as recognition of the parting entertainment provided, but England's aggressive approach did not stop with his exit.

>Jacob Bethell still batted at No 3 - ahead of opener Emilio Gay (6no), who continued to be bumped down the order until No 6 - but he departed lbw for a fourth-ball duck when leaving one from Zak Foulkes (3-42) which nipped back into the left-hander, DRS confirming his dismissal.

>Harry Brook (21) did not exactly make his case to be Stokes' successor as Test captain with a chaotic nine-ball stay that, yes, contained three boundaries and a six, but saw him throw his wicket away with a scoop down fine leg's throat.

>Ben Duckett (36), fresh from his fine hundred in the first innings, again played nicely until he edged to slip off Ben Sears (1-3) as New Zealand delivered another devastating blow.

>New Zealand 438 all out after 114.5 overs of first innings (elected to bat): Devon Conway (157 off 224 balls), Tom Latham (151 off 214); Ben Stokes (4-70), Jofra Archer (2-75), Shoaib Bashir (2-105)

>England 354 all out after 88.2 overs of first innings: Ben Duckett (113 off 99 balls), Jacob Bethell (74 off 133), Harry Brook (58 off 80); Nathan Smith (4-91), Zak Foulkes (3-35), Will O'Rourke (3-53)

>New Zealand 288-9 declared after 94 overs of second innings: Daryl Mitchell (100no off 241 balls), Rachin Ravindra (94 off 149); Jofra Archer (4-52), Ben Stokes (2-49), Gus Atkinson (2-50)

>England 103-4 after 15 overs of second innings: Ben Duckett (36 off 42 balls), Ben Stokes (30 off 20), Harry Brook (21 off 9); Zak Foulkes (3-42)

>Joe Root (9no) remains to give the hosts a glimmer of hope, as does a depleted New Zealand bowling attack - making England's approach with the bat all the more bizarre.

>The Black Caps are already sans the injured Matt Henry and rested Kyle Jamieson for this Test, Blair Tickner was lost to concussion in the first innings, and though Foulkes has done brilliantly as his replacement, Will O'Rourke is also struggling with a finger injury that saw him leave the field after being struck by one off Stokes' bat from his only delivery of the innings so far.

>New Zealand were very much in the ascendancy to start the fourth morning, having already accumulated a 204-run lead and still with seven wickets in hand. England needed a spark and it looked like it had arrived immediately as Mitchell was given out lbw to Jofra Archer in the second over of the day, only for it to be rightly overturned on review, much to the batter's obvious delight.

>He and Rachin Ravindra dug in and denied England for most of the first session, the pair cautiously going about their task on a disintegrating pitch offering variable bounce as they added only 60 runs from the 25 overs bowled before lunch.

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>Shoaib Bashir (1-42) finally provided the breakthrough in the penultimate over before the interval, trapping Ravindra (94) lbw six short of his century.

>Stokes (2-49) and Archer (4-53) then combined to rip out New Zealand's lower order as three wickets fell in as many overs upon the restart.

>Archer bounced out Tom Blundell (18) and found Nathan Smith's edge either side of Stokes picking up Mitchell Santner for a duck - DRS detecting a fine edge after an England review - in the midst of his tireless spell spanning the afternoon session.

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>At that stage, New Zealand were seven down and leading by 290, but Mitchell continued to deny them, wearing multiple blows on his bruised body as he shepherded the tail towards his century, all the while adding further crucial runs to the tourists' lead.

>But while the game began to get away from England, Stokes would take centre stage for one final time. His dismissal of Foulkes immediately after news broke of his impending international retirement will live long in the memory - as will his chaotic cameo with the bat that followed.

>England, though, suffered amid the emotion and frenzy of the final throes of the evening session and are staring down a series defeat on day five unless someone can step up to provide their skipper with one parting gift.

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>"It's never ever simple or easy with me, is it? That's been one of the good things about my career, I guess!

>"I absolutely love cricket and actually being back at Durham for the last 10 days, when I wasn't part of the second Test match, I found a new lease of life with what my affection was towards cricket.

>"I just couldn't get that same feeling back here this week, as much as I was trying.

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>"I've been through some rocky times, personally, having to feel like I'm pushing myself through and feel like I'm having to do something because it's the right thing to do.

>"To be honest, it might sound quite selfish, but this decision is generally the best thing for me right now. Whether that means it's the best thing for the team going forward, I hope so.

>"It comes down to what I think is going to allow me to still love this game that I've played since I was a kid and has given me a career.

>"I'm very excited about the next part of what I get to do - going back and playing for my boyhood club Durham.

>"There's been moments this week where it's been really tough and I think again that just adds to everything. It really makes it very clear in your mind that you're probably making the right decision.

>"It's brutal what we do - physically, mentally. Even the stuff away from it, what you have to put in and the hard work, even that's just getting a bit tiring these days.

>"At 35, I feel like I've got to do so much physical work to keep myself doing what I do out there. Again, do I have that in me? Do I have that fight in me to keep doing that, because of what I know it takes to walk out there and play for this country?

>"There's so many things that have leaned me towards knowing that this is the right decision. There's the emotional side, the physical side, mental side."

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