England’s Ben Stokes will retire from one-day international cricket after Tuesday’s series opener against South Africa at his home ground in Durham, citing an “unsustainable” schedule as the motivation for his shock decision. Stokes, who became England’s ODI captain in April, made his Test debut in 2011 and his standout performance in the format came in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand. The charismatic all-rounder scored an unbeaten 84 in the final at Lord’s, forcing a super over that ended with England becoming the world’s 50-over champions for the first time at the slimmest. But in the three years since that triumphant moment, the 31-year-old has played just nine more ODIs due to injuries, mental health hiatuses and workload management.
He will make his final appearance in Chester-le-Street against South Africa on Tuesday before focusing on his Test captaincy and Twenty20 career. Stokes, who scored 2,919 runs and claimed 74 wickets with his lively fast and medium bowling in 104 ODIs, said in a social media post on Monday that it was an “incredibly difficult decision”. my teammates 100percentage of himself in this format even more,” he said. “The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it. Three formats is just unsustainable for me right now.
Punishment schedule: “Not only do I feel my body has let me down because of the schedule and what’s expected of us, but I also feel I’m taking the place of another player who can give (captain) Jos (Buttler) and the rest of the team everything.” into Test cricket everything I have and now, with this decision, I feel I can also fully commit to the T20 format.” Stokes’ decision to retire from ODIs follows the retirement last month of World Cup captain Eoin Morgan, who helped shape England into formidable forces in the cue ball game. Clare Connor, interim chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, described Stokes as “a superstar in every format of our ‘Ben is not only one of the world’s best players but also an inspirational figure so our ODI team will miss him,'” she said.
“But having taken over as Test captain and with today’s busy cricket calendar, we fully understand and respect his decision.” Stokes’ decision to retire comes after England’s 2-1 series defeat against India in which he scored 48 runs in three innings. but bowled only three overs. He has been rested from the three T20 matches against South Africa, which will follow the three-match ODI series against the Proteas. England have packed seven Tests and 12 limited-overs internationals into their domestic season after a tough tour. Former England captain Nasser Hussain criticized the “jokes” plan and lamented Stokes’ retirement then eventually these cricketers say ‘I’m done’,” he told Sky Sports. Stokes and new red-ball coach Brendon McCullum have been widely praised for England’s Test revival good luck with the aggressive approach that led to spectacular wins against New Zealand and India in recent weeks. The three-Test series against South Africa begins at Lord’s on August 17.
