Ben Stokes has openly expressed a strong desire to transition into coaching after hanging up his boots, even dreaming of one day taking charge of the England side. In a candid interview on the "For The Love of Cricket" podcast, the 35‑year‑old former Test captain also reflected on the timing of Brendon "Baz" McCullum’s exit from the England Test coaching role, suggesting that McCullum would still have been in the position had Stokes not announced his retirement weeks earlier. Stokes stepped down from the England Test captaincy and announced his retirement from international cricket after the three‑match series against New Zealand ended in a 2‑1 defeat in June. The decision came on the heels of a bruising 4‑1 Ashes loss to Australia the previous winter, marking the end of a turbulent period for England cricket.

During his first extensive media appearance since retiring, Stokes sat down with former teammates Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler for the Sky Sports "For The Love of Cricket" podcast. The conversation quickly turned to his future plans. "I want to be a coach," he said unequivocally.

"I know what I want to do in terms of staying within the game – which is to be a coach. Would I love to be England’s coach one day? Absolutely. I would love to be able to do that.

Do I think it’s going to happen? I don’t know. No idea.

Beyond that, I just really like the idea of being, again, in some form of leadership away from playing." Stokes had captained England in Test cricket for four seasons, from 2022 until his retirement, working closely with head coach Brendon McCullum to reshape the team's playing philosophy. Their partnership was credited with introducing a more aggressive, positive brand of cricket, though results were mixed.

Two weeks after Stokes announced his retirement during the fourth day of the third Test at Trent Bridge, the England board confirmed that McCullum would also be stepping down from his Test coaching duties. When asked about McCullum’s departure, Stokes admitted he was taken aback.

"I was surprised," he said. "If I hadn’t made the decision that I made four weeks ago, Baz would still be coach. When I told Baz about my retirement he was making toast and I just went ‘oh, I’m done’.

I’d already had discussions with him, and then I told him over toast. He replied, ‘yeah, I’ve been given the tap on the shoulder’, and I was like ‘oh’. But he’s still very excited and happy to move forward with the white‑ball side because he’s doing a very good job there." Stokes also weighed in on the new direction for England’s Test side after former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was appointed as head coach and Joe Root was reinstated as captain. Stokes said he had spoken with Root, his predecessor from 2017‑2022, when the news broke, and he fully backed Root’s second stint.

However, he also voiced a personal concern for his friend, noting how heavily the captaincy had weighed on Root during his first term. "I love Rooty. I wish him nothing but success," Stokes said.

"I hope he goes on to achieve amazing things in his role of captain, and I think he’s going to really enjoy it with Fleming. He’s a great man; I’ve worked with Fleming before.

But my only worry is you, Joe. I saw what you went through and how much you put yourself through. He always put the team first; he always came second. That’s my only concern – I don’t want to see that happen again because I care for Joe a lot.

I wish him all the success in the world and I’m sure he’ll do great. I’m looking forward to seeing what the team does going forward." Stokes also questioned the decision not to elevate Harry Brook, the current vice‑captain in Tests and white‑ball captain, to the full Test captaincy. England’s managing director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, has previously said that now is not the right time for Brook to take the role, but that his "time will come".

Stokes pushed back, arguing that if a player is deemed a good leader, the board should simply give him the opportunity. "Brooky was made vice‑captain.

I’m not there anymore but even when I missed that Test against New Zealand I was like ‘why is Brooky not captain? He’s vice‑captain.’ I understood the reasoning, but I was still like, what message is that sending to him?

He’s vice‑captain and the captain is not playing but he’s not captain. It’s the same again here.

I had no leadership or captaincy experience when I took over. It was just thought I was going to be a good captain." When the topic turned to a possible playing comeback for the upcoming home Ashes series, Stokes was unequivocal. While Key suggested he wouldn’t be surprised if Stokes returned, the former all‑rounder said he never entertained the idea of playing without the captaincy. "I never once thought, ‘I’m just going to give it up and just keep going as a player’," Stokes explained.

"I’m 35. If I’m not going to be captain, I think I’d find it tough to do it. Not because I’d find it tough to be led by someone else, but because I’ve given so much of this part of my career to my job.

If I’m going to play for England again it would be as captain. I was very comfortable retiring from playing and not thinking about playing for England." When pressed on whether his retirement was definitive, Stokes answered with a confident "Defo." He concluded the interview by reaffirming his commitment to staying involved in the sport, albeit in a different capacity, and expressed optimism about the future of England cricket under the new leadership team.

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