Ben Stokes will hand back the England captaincy with plenty of pride and no regrets despite coming up short against a defiant West Indies side in the first Test at the Ageas Bowl.
Stokes was leading his country for the first time, deputising for Joe Root who was absent due to the birth of his second child. The Yorkshireman will return to a 1-0 deficit in the #raisethebat Series when he joins up with the squad in Manchester this week.
Nearly everything Stokes touched in 2019 turned to gold but he presided over a four-wicket defeat after Jermaine Blackwood's match-winning 95 did the heavy lifting in a fifth-day chase of 200.
Arguably his two biggest calls as skipper came before a ball had been bowled, omitting Stuart Broad in home conditions for the first time in eight years in a bid to harness the extra speed of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, and the subsequent call to bat first under heavy cloud cover.
That does not mean that pace was the wrong option, though, with Windies' quick Shannon Gabriel named man of the match for his nine-wicket haul.
"What Shannon has done in this game is nothing surprising. To see him back out there fit and well and bowling fast for the West Indies is always a pleasing sight," captain Jason Holder said.
"Shannon is just one of those guys who keeps doing it. He has a massive, massive heart. He deserves every bit of success he's had in this game."
