Former England skipper Ben Stokes has publicly accepted the blame for Brendon McCullum’s sacking as Test head coach, citing that latter would still have his job if he had not retired from international cricket.

Stokes announced his international retirement following the Test series against New Zealand last month. Subsequently, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sacked McCullum strictly from his role as the Test coach. The decision was driven by the team's poor red-ball form, including a 2-1 home series defeat to New Zealand and losing seven of their previous nine Tests.

However, McCullum was not fired entirely. The New Zealander retained his job as England's white-ball coach, where he recently guided the side to the world number one T20I ranking.

“I was [surprised]. If I hadn’t made the decision that I made four weeks ago, Baz would still be coach. So it’s my fault!" Stokes said on For The Love of Cricket podcast.

Stokes approached McCullum while he was making breakfast to inform about his immediate retirement decision, unaware that the coach had just been dismissed.

“When I told Baz, he was making toast and I just went ‘oh, I’m done’. I’d obviously had discussions with him anyway and then told him over toast. Then, again, he was like ‘yeah, I’ve been given the tap on the shoulder’ and I was like ‘oh’. But he’s still very excited and very happy to be moving forward with the white-ball because he’s doing a very good job there," he added.

The former England captain further closed the door on a return as a player, making it clear that he would only consider playing for England again if he were leading the side.

“I never once thought, 'I'm just going to give it up and just keep going as a player'," Stokes stated.

“I'm 35. If I'm not going to be captain, I think I'd find it tough to do it. Not saying because I'd find it tough to be led by someone else. I just think because I've given so much of this part of my career to my job, if I'm going to play for England it's going to be as captain.

“I was very comfortable retiring from playing and not thinking about playing for England,” he further remarked.

Following Stokes' abrupt retirement and McCullum’s sacking, the ECB chose to make a completely fresh start. While Joe Root was re-appointed as Test captain, Stephen Fleming was named the new Test head coach.