Ben Stokes explains his wife's reaction to Stuart Broad retiring from cricket

01 August 2023 , 15:01

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Ben Stokes explains his wife's reaction to Stuart Broad retiring from cricket

England captain Ben Stokes has revealed his wife Clare's immediate reaction to the news of Stuart Broad's retirement following the final Ashes Test at the Oval.

Broad enjoyed a fairytale end to his career, smashing a six off the final ball he faced and then taking the wicket of Alex Carey to win the Test match and level the Ashes with the final ball he bowled.

And while Broad's fans and teammates will miss his exploits on the pitch, Stokes' wife will miss him letting her know that her husband has made it home safe after a team night out. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Stokes said: "When he announced his retirement and I told my wife that this was going to be his last game she was like, 'Oh, Broady is the one who messages me saying that Ben's got home safe after a good night out'.

"After we've won a Test match. So she doesn't have that anymore, so it's going to be someone else. Probably Rooty."

Broad has walked away from the sport at the age of 37 and is looking forward to spending more time with his family after his fiancee, The Saturdays singer and BBC Radio 1 presenter Mollie King, gave birth to their daughter Anabella in November.

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When asked if becoming a father played a part in his decision to retire, Broad replied: "Great question. It's a difficult one to answer, really, because there's quite a long break after this series so I was getting a lot of time off anyway.

England captain Ben Stokes and wife Clare (Instagram/clarey11)

Stuart Broad with his fiancée Mollie King and their daughter Annabella following his final Test (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

"But even within this Ashes series - we played Ireland in the first week in June - I think I've been home for seven or eight nights, maybe. And because Mollie works Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, she's not been able to travel.

"I feel like I haven't seen Annabella and Mollie as much as I would like to - at such a young age, particularly. I love everything about being a dad and I'm certainly going to throw all my time and effort into being a great dad.

"Did it come into my decision? Potentially. There's certainly something that fills my heart with joy that I'll be able to spend a bit more time at home."

Matthew Cooper