Joe Root has refused to rule out a Ben Stokes return for the 2027 Ashes, saying “I don’t know” when asked whether England’s former captain could come back from retirement to face Australia next summer. Root’s response was deliberate. He did not say yes. He did not say no. He left it exactly where he wanted it.
“I don’t know, let’s get there first.”
Joe Root, Sky Sports Cricket podcast, August 12, 2026
Root was speaking ahead of England’s Test series against Pakistan, which begins at Headingley on August 19. It was his first extended interview since being reappointed as Test captain following Stokes’ retirement during the New Zealand series in June. The interview covered several topics, from removing the team curfew to managing Jofra Archer’s workload, but it was his six-word answer on Stokes that carried the most weight.
Stokes walked away from international cricket mid-match during the third Test at Trent Bridge in late June. He told his teammates in the dressing room that it would be his last two days representing England. His exit came weeks after he and Gus Atkinson were suspended for the second Test at The Oval for breaching the team’s midnight curfew at Rex Rooms nightclub in Chelsea. The ECB found neither player was responsible for any violence at the venue. A Saracens rugby player had thrown a punch at Atkinson but hit a security guard instead. Both cricketers received written conduct warnings for the curfew breach, not for the incident itself.
Root’s appointment alongside new head coach Stephen Fleming marked a full reset for England’s Test setup. Fleming, the former New Zealand captain and Chennai Super Kings coach, replaces Brendon McCullum, who stepped down after the New Zealand series defeat. Marcus Trescothick will serve as interim coach for the Pakistan series before Fleming takes charge.
England’s Open Door for Stokes
Root is not the first senior figure to leave room for a Stokes comeback. ECB managing director Rob Key addressed the possibility directly in late July, making it clear that the board has no issue with how Stokes left.
“It would be a brilliant story if he does. He hasn’t [indicated a change of heart], but I wouldn’t be surprised. Anything is possible with Ben.”
Rob Key, Sky Sports News, July 2026
Joe Root has refused to rule out an Ashes return for Ben Stokes. pic.twitter.com/Q8Cf3Golzd
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 12, 2026
Asked whether Stokes had burned bridges with the manner of his retirement, Key said no. He was unequivocal. “Not at all. Not as far as I’m concerned.”
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald went further. Speaking in late July, McDonald called a potential Stokes return the “fairytale” build-up to the 2027 Ashes. He believes Stokes still has “good cricket left” and suggested that the appointment of a new England coach could reopen the conversation.
Three voices from three different positions, England’s captain, England’s managing director, and Australia’s head coach, are now publicly saying the same thing. None of them will say no.
Stokes himself has. Speaking on the For The Love of Cricket Podcast with Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler on August 4, he ruled out an Ashes return again. His focus is on coaching. He is completing his Level 3 coaching badges while still playing for Durham, where he scored 95 against Northamptonshire in the County Championship in June and recently returned to the One Day Cup squad. He has said his ambition is to coach England one day, not play for them again.
But Stokes has reversed a retirement before. He came back from ODI retirement in 2023 to play the World Cup in India. That decision came after months of saying he was done with the format. The circumstances are different this time. His Test retirement happened mid-match, a moment that typically signals deep personal conviction rather than a reaction that fades. But the precedent exists, and everyone around him knows it.
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When a captain is asked a direct question about a specific player and answers with “let’s get there first,” that is not uncertainty. That is a door left open on purpose. Root has been in dressing rooms with Stokes for over a decade. He knows what Stokes brings to an Ashes series, not just runs and wickets, but the belief he puts into a team simply by walking out to bat at number five when the situation is desperate. No replacement replicates that presence. Dan Lawrence can bat at six and bowl medium pace. He cannot walk into a dressing room before a day five run chase and make ten players believe they are going to win.
Root is not going to publicly campaign for a return. That is not how captains operate. But by refusing to close the conversation, he is making sure it stays alive through the winter, through the county season, all the way to the point where Ashes squads are picked. In cricket, a non-denial from a captain carries more weight than any public backing ever could.
Sources:
[Sky Sports Cricket podcast, August 12, 2026] Sky Sports
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