Sussex coach reveals his shock at Stokes' retirement announcement

Paul Farbrace says he thought reports of “superhero” Ben Stokes’ international retirement were a mistake.

The England skipper revealed he is bowing out during the third and final Test of the series with New Zealand.

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He immediately took a wicket and then went out to open the batting as England chased an unlikely victory target of 373.

Sussex head coach Farbrace knows Stokes well from his team as England assistant coach.

He told Sky Sports News: “I am absolutely shocked. I was astounded, I thought it was a mistake.

“Forget captaincy, Ben is a leader and the sort of person people want to follow.

“Ben is just one of those natural leaders of people and wherever he goes, people want to go with him.

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“He is one of those superhero cricketers. I didn’t see this coming.”

England’s Ashes 2005-winning skipper Michael Vaughan told the BBC’s Test Match Special: “Clearly something has triggered in his mind.

“You look at his contract that he’s got until next year – there’s a home Ashes series next year.

“There were so many rumours about fall-outs 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 has given it everything for such a long period of time.”

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Michael Atherton echoed his fellow former England captain’s assessment after the news of Stokes ending a remarkable career was confirmed just before the tea interval.

Atherton said on commentary for Sky Sports: “It’s an extraordinary moment, a stunning moment, and it begs a number of questions, why and why now?

“In the middle of a day’s cricket with still a day to go with a match to win, draw or lose and a series on the line.

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“But I think there have been some signs there throughout this series, both at Lord’s initially when he looked like a man who had been leading England for four years.

“He missed the Oval for disciplinary reasons, back for this Test match and he has decided that enough is enough.”

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