Australia’s coach believes his yet-to-be-named England counterpart could try talking their former captain into an Ashes return
Andrew McDonald admits Australia are keeping close tabs on England’s post-Bazball approach to Test cricket, including the “fairytale” prospect of Ben Stokes reversing his retirement for next year’s Ashes.
The 2027 tour of England marks the endpoint of the Aussies’ busy run of Test cricket over the coming 12 months, with McDonald conceding they face a challenge in keeping their ageing bowlers fit and firing the whole way through their 20 or 21-Test run.
England’s concerns are more immediate. After losing seven of their past nine Tests they are without a Test captain and coach following the sudden retirement of Stokes and the subsequent axing of Bazball brainchild Brendon McCullum.
Joe Root and Marcus Trescothick have been tipped as likely replacements – possibly as an interim in the case of Trescothick – but Australia’s coach has not counted out Stokes’ involvement in next year’s Ashes.
The allrounder is still playing at domestic level for Durham having turned 35 last month.
By way of comparison, Australia could field as many five players against Bangladesh in Darwin next month who are older than Stokes in Nathan Lyon (38), Steve Smith, Scott Boland (both 37), Mitchell Starc (36) and Josh Hazlewood (35).
McDonald, who prefaced his comments by insisting England was “half a world away” and that he had no inside word on their decisions, believes their incoming coach could attempt to talk Stokes into a return.
“I think the fairytale would be that he comes back out of retirement and takes on one more Ashes and builds a lot of hype on the way in,” Australia’s coach told radio station SEN on Wednesday.
“If you’re looking at promoting that series, that’s probably the angle that you would want, that he comes out of retirement.
“To me, he’s still got a lot of good cricket left in him. It’ll be a fascinating watch. I think that whoever the new head coach that comes in potentially has a conversation with him.
“We don’t know why Ben left, I don’t think there’s been anything on the record around the definitive reason as to why. He may have just called it a day on Test cricket and that’s it, so there might be a full stop there.
“Or there might be an opportunity for that new head coach to potentially twist his arm and bring him back in.
“But if it ends now, he’s had a wonderful career in terms of what he’s brought to the game, his impact in certain innings and moments in time. It will age pretty well for him to look back on.”
Stokes does have form when it comes to changing his mind. In July 2022, he gave away 50-over cricket citing the “unsustainable” workload of being a three-format player, only to return for the 2023 World Cup.
He also coaxed Moeen Ali out of Test retirement for the 2023 Ashes. Stokes has given no indication he could be persuaded to do similar four years on, and insisted “I’m done” when the BBC put that to him after his farewell Test last month.
England’s first assignment after the exits of Stokes and McCullum will be a three-Test home series against Pakistan. Even allowing for that side’s unpredictability, it shapes as something of a soft landing; Babar Azam’s men are bottom of the World Test Championship standings after their 90-run defeat to West Indies in Trinidad.
Australians Justin Langer and Tom Moody have both been flagged as possible McCullum replacements (though the UK Telegraph have reported Langer is no longer in the running) beyond that.
Andy Flower has ruled himself out of contention having helped Australia as an assistant on their tours of India and England in 2023. He has since taken Royal Challengers Bengaluru to consecutive IPL titles, and also helms London Spirit in the Hundred.
Langer meanwhile has the reigns of Super Giants franchises in both the IPL (Lucknow) and the Hundred (Manchester).
“Like any of these decisions that you make, your next one’s the most important, so with an Ashes coming up, we’ll be keenly looking at potentially who’s the coach, what that means, do they change their style of play?” said McDonald.
“We’ll get a look at that (in) the Pakistan series. I think Marcus Trecothick may be the interim for the short term before they put someone in full-time. Whether they change their style, we’ll be looking at that from afar.
“It’s interesting that Andy Flower was the person that they were looking at going towards, and then he’s declined because of his franchise commitments.
“Maybe coaches are very similar to players in that franchise-versus-country sort of narrative, and whether you can attract the best coaches at the right time into international cricket.”
