The China Mail - Vaughan calls for England change after Stokes bows out with defeat

Monday's victory gave New Zealand a 2-1 series success and condemned England to a seventh defeat in nine Tests.

Stokes stunned fans and pundits alike by announcing his departure from the international game on Sunday's fourth day in Nottingham, the series was still up for grabs.

The 35-year-old all-rounder, normally a middle-order batsman, then opened the innings but holed out.

England lost three more wickets in a manic pursuit of a stiff target of 373, before Sunday's close to leave them well on their way to a first series defeat at home in three or more Tests since 2012.

England head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key were backed by their bosses to lead a rebuild of the team following a 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia concluded in January.

But former England captain Vaughan, who led England to Ashes glory in 2005, told the BBC: "There must be change after what we've seen here in terms of a cricketing sense now over a period of time.

"I'll be absolutely staggered if this leadership group is still together (after the New Zealand series)."

Meanwhile, England fast bowler Jofra Archer said no longer having fellow 2019 World Cup-winner Stokes as a team-mate would be difficult.

"It's going to take some getting used to," said Archer at the presentation ceremony. "Not just as a captain but as a friend.

"Someone who you can always go to at mid-off or mid-on, wherever he is you can always bounce ideas off him. He’s going to be a big miss."

- 'Dumbfounded' -

Earlier, former England skipper Andrew Strauss expressed surprise at the the timing of Stokes's departure.

"Like many people I was dumbfounded yesterday (Sunday) when the whispers started coming out that Ben Stokes was about to announce his retirement," Strauss said on LinkedIn.

Strauss, hailed Stokes as one of England's "genuine greats"but added: "I'm not convinced that the whole thing was orchestrated the right way yesterday –- it seems like a huge distraction to a team that was battling to avoid a series defeat and the cricket in the last session very much had an 'end of term' feel to it.

"Everyone has the right to bow out on their own terms, and no-one has earned that more than Ben, but announcing before or after the game seems like a more sensible approach. When you are in the middle of a match, the only thing that matters is the performance of the team.

"It is a small gripe in the greater scheme of things. English cricket will be far worse (and less interesting!) without Ben involved... There will be a huge vacuum in the England team that will be impossible to fill."

D.Wang--ThChM