Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has said he believes a push could be made to bring Ben Stokes out of Test retirement ahead of the 2027 Ashes, arguing the former England captain still has 'a lot of good cricket left in him.' McDonald shared his views in an interview with SEN Radio, adding that the incoming England head coach could be the key figure in any such conversation.

McDonald's Case for a Stokes 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,' McDonald said. 'If you're looking at promoting that series, that's probably the angle that you would want, that he comes out of retirement.'

McDonald was careful to acknowledge uncertainty around Stokes's motivations. '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 said. '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.'

Stokes retired from Test cricket following England's 2-1 series defeat to New Zealand, a result that also marked the end of the 'Bazball' era under departing coach Brendon McCullum. The retirement drew significant attention given Stokes's earlier precedent — he had previously reversed his retirement from ODI cricket to captain England at the 2023 World Cup, and had famously persuaded Moeen Ali to return to Test duty for the 2023 Ashes.

England's Coaching Vacuum and the Road to 2027

England are currently searching for a new head coach after Andy Flower declined the role, citing franchise cricket commitments — a development McDonald found notable. '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,' he said. '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.'

McDonald indicated that Marcus Trescothick may serve as interim coach in the short term. England's next assignment is a three-match home Test series against Pakistan before the 2027 Ashes takes centrestage. The five-Test series opens at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on 18 June, with further matches scheduled at Lord's, Edgbaston, The Rose Bowl, and The Oval.

Labuschagne Under Scrutiny

McDonald also addressed the form slump of Marnus Labuschagne, whose career Test average has slipped to 44.7, ahead of Australia's upcoming series against Bangladesh. When asked directly what Australia needed from the batter, McDonald offered a one-word answer: 'Runs.'

He elaborated: 'He's working incredibly hard on his game... the criticism sometimes is in that search for the answer. Sometimes he's shifting away from what makes him really good, that sort of proactive batting.' McDonald urged Labuschagne to trust his technique and 'just go out there and do it.'

McDonald also pushed back against the traditional benchmark of a 50-plus Test average, arguing that the faster pace of modern Test cricket has made such metrics harder to sustain across the board.

Australia's Squad Selection Philosophy

Defending the decision to field an experienced squad for the Bangladesh series rather than introduce younger players, McDonald reaffirmed the selection panel's commitment to picking the strongest available eleven for every Test. 'These players are still at their best, we believe, and hence why they're being selected,' he said, adding that it would be difficult to sideline high-performing veterans in favour of unproven talent without strong justification.

With the 2027 Ashes now firmly on the horizon, all eyes will be on who England appoint as head coach — and whether that person can do what McDonald himself clearly hopes for: bring Stokes back for one final chapter.