Former English captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, is set to return for the Ashes series against Australia. The announcement came after he returned to duty following the fall-out from a London nightclub incident also involving teammate Gus Atkinson earlier that month.
Coach Brendon McCullum was sacked after the team’s loss against New Zealand. However, another Kiwi coach, Stephen Fleming, is set to take over the coaching role from McCullum.
McDonald, whose side will 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.
“It would be a fairytale ending if he comes back out of retirement and takes on one more Ashes since a lot of hype gets created for the series,” McDonald said, adding, “If you're looking at promoting that series, that's probably the angle that you would want — that he comes out of retirement.”
While responding to a query, McDonald said, “To me, he’s still got a lot of good cricket left in him.”
“It will be a fascinating story for every cricket fan to come and watch one of the best all-rounders of the modern-day game play for one last time. Stokes, who is still playing at a domestic level for Durham, is only 35,” he said.
Interestingly, Australia’s line-up against Bangladesh features five older players than Ben Stokes — 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.
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