ENG vs NZ 2026: 'One of England's greatest when the pressure's on' - Michael Vaughan on Ben Stokes

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has lauded Ben Stokes after the Test skipper announced his retirement from international cricket amid the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Stokes' retirement was announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board towards the close of the second session on Day 4. He retires after having become the first player since Jacques Kallis to have scored 7,000 runs and picked up 250 wickets in the format, a milestone which he crossed during the game. L

"England have got to move forward now - it's hard to say that when it's only just happened. But they have got to look at how they build a team without Ben Stokes, and it's not just the player - it's the persona. He's got the winning mentality, and I have him as one of England's greatest when the pressure's on," Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

Moments after the news was out in the public domain, Stokes, into his 11th over of a gruelling spell, picked up the wicket of Zak Foulkes, sending the Trent Bridge crowd into a frenzy. Speaking of the exhilarating moment, Vaughan stated that he anticipated a similar moment, as Stokes has a history of delivering when the team needs him.

"That was an immediate reminder of what England are going to miss. That's exactly why he is an England great. I didn't see it coming, but I did see the wicket coming because he has done that throughout his entire career. Whenever England need something, he has always delivered," he added.

Stokes missed the second Test at the Oval after breaching team curfew and being involved in a late-night altercation at a nightclub. At the time of the revelations, reports had emerged that the enigmatic all-rounder was considering calling time on his career. Vaughan stated that he hopes the incident and its potential fallout were not the reason for Stokes' decision to retire. 

"I'll be so disappointed if it is, if English cricket has got to the stage where one of our greatest has had to step down because of the way that whole situation was handled. There were so many rumours about fallouts but I do hope that wasn't the case, I hope that he just woke up one morning and said he'd had enough. He's given it everything for such a long period of time. It sounds like he's just woken up and gone, 'Nope, the fire just isn't quite burning any more," Vaughan said. 

Stokes retires as one of English cricket's most storied players. He played a vital role in England's triumphs in the 2019 ODI World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup. He has a host of historic performances which have pulled England back from the brink in multiple formats. He finishes up with 7273 runs and 252 wickets in Test cricket, with 14 centuries and six five-wicket hauls.