Ben Stokes says he has no qualms about retiring from international cricket and insists he is “very happy” with his decision despite ending his England career with a Test series loss to New Zealand.The England captain announced on Sunday he will retire from international cricket after the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, ending a 15-year career.His last appearance for England came on Monday when New Zealand won the three-match series 2-1 with a 160-run victory. Stokes watched the final stages of the match from the balcony outside the England dressing room.The day after the announcement, Stokes was asked by the BBC if he would like to sit on the sofa and watch England’s home Ashes series against Australia next year.“I’m very happy with everything right now,” Stokes said. “It’s a decision you don’t make lightly. It took a lot of time. I talked to a lot of people close to me.“I’m done, man, and I’m happy.”Stokes retired after a difficult few weeks. He led England to victory in the first Test at Lord’s before being involved in an incident in London while out with team-mate Gus Atkinson. The two players were reportedly at a nightclub when an England security guard was attacked by a rugby player from English club Saracens.England said Stokes had breached his contractual obligations by ruling him out of the second Test. After an investigation into the incident, he returned to captaincy for the third Test.Looking back on the events, Stokes described the period as “unfortunate” and “interesting”. He also acknowledged that the incident may have played a role in his decision to retire, although he said it was not the only reason.“But the most important fact is that over the last six to 12 months, I think everything I’ve done over a long period of time has taken its toll,” Stokes said.“Being in the captaincy role – as good as it is, as exciting as it is, what an honor it is – there are some downsides to doing it. I think that’s the unfortunate side that people don’t always see.”
