Strauss hails Stokes but pans retirement announcement

Stokes's intangible ability to seize the moment was amplified when he bagged a wicket with his first ball following the announcement, with Zak Foulkes caught at second slip.

But soon afterwards, England's helter-skelter batting approach left them on the verge of a first home series defeat in three or more Tests since 2012.

Strauss was an outgoing England captain on that occasion, with the former opener ending his career in a Test in which he led his side to No.1 in the world rankings despite a loss to South Africa.

While lining up to pay tribute to everything Stokes has achieved in his glittering career, Strauss feels the 35-year-old should not have revealed his plans during the third Test against the Black Caps.

Strauss wrote on his LinkedIn page: "Like many people I was dumbfounded yesterday when the whispers started coming out that Ben Stokes was about to announce his retirement. It was both shocking and perhaps inevitable at the same time.

"This is a guy that has given everything to the England shirt but also has worn his emotions on his sleeve throughout that journey. The truth is that the job just burns you out, especially if you take on as much responsibility as Ben did in the role.

"He will rightly go down as one of England's genuine greats. This is a guy who revelled in the big moments. A genuine superstar."

Strauss added: "I hesitate to say this but 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."