I would absolutely love to be England's head coach, reveals Ben Stokes

With the discussions surrounding coaching and transitions post-retirement, former all-rounder Ben Stokes has revealed his aspirations to take over as England coach in the future. Notably, Stokes announced his shock retirement from international cricket in June during the third Test against New Zealand, a move which sent waves across the entire cricketing world.

The star cricketer's decision set into motion a chain of events, which saw Brendon McCullum step down from his role with the Test side. The all-rounder, who is currently in action for Durham in the One-Day Cup, also revealed he has been preparing for his coaching credentials in order to wrap it up before he calls time on his career.

"I'm doing my level three coaching now while I'm still playing, because I want, when the day comes that I'm not playing any more, I'd love to be able to have all that stuff signed off and done. I know what I want to do in terms of staying within the game, which is to be a coach.

"And would I love to be coach of England one day? Absolutely. I just really like the idea of being, again, like, in some form of leadership away from playing," Stokes said on the For the Love of Cricket Podcast, as quoted by BBC.

With Stokes' retirement leaving a vacancy at the helm, England have once more turned to Joe Root, appointing the talismanic batter as captain of the side once more. Root has captained England in the longest format from 2017 till 2022, stepping down after revealing the 'toll' it took on him after a turbulent period during the Covid-19 pandemic. He will be joined by former New Zealand captain and Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming, who takes over ahead of England's tour of South Africa in December. McCullum will, however, still be in charge of the white-ball sides.

Stokes has backed Root for the role, but expressed his concern for his former teammate and close friend, stating that he was aware of what Root was going through on his first run as skipper and does not want a repeat of the same to take place. He also backed Root to share a successful partnership with Fleming, the latter of whom Stokes has worked with at the Super Kings in 2024.

"I wish him [Root] nothing but success. I hope he goes on and achieves amazing things in his role as captain and I think he's going to really enjoy it with Flem [Fleming]. He's a great man. I've worked with Flem before but I told Joe, I said my only worry is just you. And that's all I really care about now, just because I have seen what he went through and how much he put himself through for someone," Stokes said.

"He's just always put the team first - he always comes second. And that's just my only concern with it, is just obviously knowing what he went through last time he was in charge of the team. I don't want to see that ever happen again because I care for Joe a lot, but I wish him all the success in the world. I'm sure he's going to do great. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the team does going forward," he added.

Stokes also questioned the decision to overlook Harry Brook as Test captain, despite being the vice-captain of the side. Brook, who leads the white-ball teams, was made vice-captain before the Ashes in the winter of 2025, but was overlooked when Stokes missed the second Test against New Zealand after being involved in a nightclub altercation. Brook was also involved in an incident with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on a white-ball tour in October 2025, which eventually prompted Root to take over for that game.

"I think just if you think someone's going to be a good captain or a good leader, then just give them it. I understood the reasoning but I was still like, well, what message is that sending to him? He's vice-captain. And then the captain is not playing, but he's not captain. What?" questioned Stokes.

England's next Test assignment will be a three-match series against Pakistan, set to commence on August 19 at Headingley. Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick will take over the team on an interim basis for the series.