# Joe Root’s Calmness and the Anatomy of an Era as Ben Stokes Bows Out

**By Arjun Mehta**  \nPublished August 22, 2026  \nUpdated September 9, 2026

> As Ben Stokes exits international cricket in trademark cinematic fashion at Trent Bridge, longtime friend and predecessor Joe Root offers a steadying anchor for a changing England side.

When Ben Stokes went to bed in Nottingham's Hart’s Hotel on a Saturday night in late June 2026, he had already decided how his international story would end. He told Joe Root and Harry Brook of his plans to announce his retirement from international cricket the following day, bypassing a sleeping Brendon McCullum and the ECB communications team until the morning light. By 3.25 pm on Sunday, just fifteen minutes before tea at Trent Bridge, the news broke across the ground, triggering an immediate, spontaneous standing ovation from the stands. Two minutes later, with characteristically theatrical timing, Stokes removed New Zealand’s Zak Foulkes with his very next delivery.

It was, as Root observed with characteristic fondness, the most Ben Stokes thing you’re ever going to see, just being able to almost turn it on like a tap. Having played with and against Stokes since they were twelve years old, Root has stood present for 120 of Stokes's 122 Test appearances. Reflecting on their deep bond, Root noted, He’s like a brother… a strange brother. It’s sort of all I’ve ever known. It’ll be strange the next time we turn up and he’s not here. I’m firmly the grandfather in this team now.

Stokes’s disconnection from international cricket had been gradual, then sudden. The toll had been mounting since the Ashes, where England failed to convert a commanding position at lunch on the second day of the Perth Test into victory, sliding instead to a shattering defeat. Subsequent fitness crises compounded the strain—a groin injury during the final Sydney Test was followed by a horrific accident in the Durham academy nets in February that broke his right cheekbone. Turning 35 on the first day of the Lord’s Test, Stokes admitted he simply had nothing left to give. His post-midnight trip to the Rex Rooms in west London with Gus Atkinson following the Lord's victory was viewed not merely as an act of rebellion, but as a symptom of an internal release and the beginning of the end.

While Stokes found a new lease of life playing for Durham against Northamptonshire—batting with old freedom and scoring 95—he could not recapture that affection upon returning to the international setup at Trent Bridge. Head coach Brendon McCullum, who spent the winter navigating the fallout of the Ashes and various team curfews alongside managing director Rob Key, praised his departing captain's immense legacy. Ben’s contribution to the game transcends cricket, McCullum said. He’s one of those players that each time he stepped into the arena, his energy and determination meant he had the potential to change the course of the match.

Yet, the transition for English cricket has been bruisingly swift. Just days after Stokes's emotional farewell, McCullum’s reduced role as England's white-ball coach—continuing until his contract expires at the end of the 50-year-old World Cup in southern Africa in autumn 2027—began with a humbling six-wicket defeat to India at Edgbaston. Facing a full-strength Indian side featuring Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shubman Gill, England's frailties were exposed once more. An initial top-order collapse saw the hosts slip from 61-0 to 64-3, and then down to 107-6.

Only a resolute 111-run partnership between Liam Dawson and Joe Root salvaged respectability. Dawson posted his highest ODI score for England with 68, while Root anchored the innings with an unbeaten 76. Root’s mastery in the 50-over format remains unquestioned—averaging 70 in ODIs since the beginning of 2025—yet his lone hand ended when England lost their final four wickets for just 30 runs, bowled out for 258. India chased down the target with 28 balls to spare, propelled by an unbeaten 80 from Shubman Gill before he succumbed to cramp, alongside calm half-centuries from Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

The contrasting fortunes of England's red-ball drama at Trent Bridge and white-ball struggles at Edgbaston underscore the dual realities facing the setup. As Stokes steps away into a well-earned retirement surrounded by his wife Clare and children, and as McCullum steers a rebuilding white-ball side toward 2027, the quiet, unflappable presence of Joe Root remains the connective tissue holding a transforming generation together.

## Sources

- [dailymail.com](https://www.dailymail.com/sport/cricket/article-15936969/Inside-Ben-Stokes-bombshell-retirement-dressing-room-confidants-told-Brendon-McCullum-not-surprised-battle-England-chiefs-unfolded-scenes.html) — original
- [bbc.com](https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/c1kykzjy4lno) — original
- [independent.co.uk](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/joe-root-england-brendon-mccullum-trent-bridge-b3004616.html) — original