Melbourne, July 29 -- 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 surpri...