Ben Stokes Slams England Board For ‘Shambolic’ Ashes Decision

Ben Stokes called ECB’s decision to exclude Headingley from Ashes Tests ‘shambolic’.

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Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket on June 28, 2026. (Picture Credit: X@englandcricket)

Ben Stokes has started speaking his heart out regularly since leaving the England captaincy last month. On Saturday (August 22), he went on social media to call the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s decision not to host an Ashes Test at Headingley ‘shambolic’.

Instead of the historic ground, Rose Bowl in Southampton will host a men’s Ashes Test for the first time, with Trent Bridge, Lord’s, Edgbaston and the Oval staging the other four games. The Rose Bowl, which opened only in 2001, will become the tenth stadium to get the honor.

Headingley recently hosted the first Test between England and Pakistan, after which captain Joe Root said that it would be a ‘shame’ if the ground, the home stadium for his county Yorkshire, did not get a game.

“Shame is an understatement tbh (to be honest),” Stokes responded on social media. “Shambolic would be more appropriate. Great win though,” he added.

The ECB has not explained why Headingley has been excluded, but the board moved away from a competitive tender process to a rotation method in 2023. Under this, the most valuable matches are distributed between the host venues, with rights announced several years ago. But Headingley will become the only major venue to get neither an Ashes men’s Test nor one during India’s tour of England in 2029.

“We’re pretty disappointed with the allocation, we don’t feel it’s fair in terms of our cricketing history, the scale of the recreational game, the club’s finances,” Sanjay Patel, the chief executive of Yorkshire, said in a statement. “It’s definitely something that we’re going to have to navigate as a club the next two or three years.”

“We’ve got to make sure that when the next allocation comes up, we have the plans in place to make sure cricket is played at this ground in a meaningful way, that means we’re going to have to raise external investment, have to raise our facilities and almost make sure we get the big Test matches here, because it’s really important.”

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Yorkshire’s cricket club will be disappointed by the decision to exclude Headingley from hosting an Ashes Test, as it will be the only major venue not to host an Ashes men’s Test or one during India’s tour of England in 2029. The club’s chief executive, Sanjay Patel, stated that the decision is unfair given their cricketing history, the scale of the recreational game, and the club’s finances.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) moved from a competitive tender process to a rotation method for allocating matches in 2023, distributing the most valuable games among host venues with rights announced several years in advance. This decision led to Headingley being excluded from hosting an Ashes men’s Test or a Test during India’s 2029 tour of England.

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