The England captain stunned the cricket world on Sunday by announcing that he will retire from international cricket at the end of the match, bringing the curtain down on a 15-year career and a four-year spell as Test skipper.
But while the emotional farewell dominated headlines, it was New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell who delivered the decisive performance, producing a defiant unbeaten century to propel the tourists into a commanding position.
Mitchell's gritty 100 not out from 241 balls, compiled despite taking several painful blows from England's pacemen, guided New Zealand to 288-9 declared in their second innings and set England a daunting target of 373.
At stumps, England had slumped to 103-4 after a breathless evening session, still requiring 270 runs for victory and a series triumph.
The day had already taken on extraordinary significance before tea when news of Stokes' retirement filtered around Trent Bridge. The 35-year-old had informed his teammates before play and received a standing ovation from a stunned crowd as he prepared to bowl the 11th over of a marathon spell.
In a moment that seemed scripted, Stokes immediately claimed the wicket of Zak Foulkes with his next delivery, sparking jubilant scenes among the home supporters.
As if determined to make one final statement, Stokes then promoted himself to opener for only the third time in his 122-Test career.
He launched England's chase in trademark fashion, smashing his sixth ball for six and adding another towering hit off Nathan Smith. The left-hander raced to 30 from just 20 deliveries, but his audacious cameo ended when he holed out to midwicket off Foulkes.
England's collapse quickly followed.
Jacob Bethell departed for a duck four balls later, Harry Brook's explosive 21 from nine balls ended in another Foulkes wicket, and Ben Duckett edged Ben Sears shortly before the close to leave the hosts reeling.
Earlier, New Zealand had built their advantage around Mitchell's resilience. The middle-order batter shared a crucial 129-run stand with Rachin Ravindra, who fell six runs short of a century after being trapped lbw by Shoaib Bashir.
Mitchell then shepherded the tail expertly, adding valuable runs with Ben Sears, who returned to the crease with a finger injury after previously retiring hurt, allowing his teammate to reach a sixth Test century and fourth against England.
England's bowlers had briefly threatened a comeback when Jofra Archer struck twice after lunch and Stokes bowled a tireless spell that returned figures of 11-1-16-2.
Yet Mitchell's resistance ultimately ensured New Zealand remained in control.
Jonathan Trott, who has been linked with the England Test coaching job, will join the Ireland staff as a consultant ahead of their ODI series against Afghanistan next month.
India made a winning start to the one-day international series with a comfortable six-wicket victory over England at Edgbaston on Tuesday, led by captain Shubman Gill and all-rounder Axar Patel.
Brendon McCullum admits his results as head coach of England's Test side were not good enough and it was probably for the best that he was relieved of his duties in the longest format.
Brendon McCullum has been dismissed as England's Test head coach, bringing the curtain down on the Bazball era just weeks after Ben Stokes retired from international cricket.
