Melbourne [Australia], July 29 (ANI): Australia coach Andrew McDonald believes former England captain Ben Stokes could be persuaded to reverse his retirement and feature in next year's Ashes series.

Stokes called time on his Test career after England's series loss to New Zealand last month, with the team currently sitting seventh in the ICC World Test Championship standings ahead of their upcoming home series against Pakistan, according to the ICC.

The experienced all-rounder has since returned to action for Durham in England's domestic 50-over competition, scoring unbeaten knocks of 108 and 73 in successive wins.

Although McDonald said he had no inside information about Stokes' international future, the Australia coach admitted he would not be surprised to see the former England skipper return for next year's Ashes.

'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 on Australian radio station i, as quoted by ICC.

'If you're looking at promoting that series, that's probably the angle that you would want, that he comes out of retirement,' the Australian coach added.

Stokes had previously come out of ODI retirement in 2022 to represent England in their unsuccessful title defence at the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. However, the star all-rounder recently indicated that he would stand by his decision even if the team management approached him in the future.

The uncertainty surrounding England's Test setup has increased following the departure of Stokes' long-time ally Brendon McCullum as head coach. McDonald said he was closely monitoring the developments ahead of the next Ashes series.

'To me, he (Stokes) has still got a lot of good cricket left in him. It'll be a fascinating watch. I think that whoever the new head coach that comes in potentially has a conversation with him,' McDonald noted. 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 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. But if it ends now, he's had a wonderful career in terms of what he's brought to the game, his impact in certain innings and moments in time. It will age pretty well for him to look back on,' he said, as quoted by ICC.

England recently unveiled the schedule for the Ashes 2027, with Trent Bridge in Nottingham to host the opening match of the five-game series from June 18 ahead of further Tests at Lord's, Edgbaston, The Rose Bowl and The Oval. (ANI)