Ben Stokes announces retirement from ODI cricket

In what can be called an absolute shocker, veteran England all-rounder Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from the ODI format. The upcoming first ODI against South Africa on Tuesday (July 19) will mark Stokes’ final appearance in the format. The 31-year-old, who made his ODI debut back in August 2011, stated that playing all three formats is ‘unsustainable’ for him now.

Hence, to focus on the other two formats, he will call quits on ODI cricket after the Durham clash. Notably, Stokes was instrumental in guiding England to the 2019 World Cup triumph. He even bagged the Player-of-the-Match award in the all-important final clash. Coming to his overall numbers, Stokes has so far scored 2919 runs in 104 ODIs, with his average being just under 40.

With the ball, he has taken 74 wickets in the format, which also includes a five-wicket haul. Not to forget, Stokes is now England’s Test captain and carries the responsibility to change the side’s fortunes in the traditional format. As the cricket calendar is packed nowadays, Stokes reckons he won’t be able to give his 100% in the 50-over format.

I can’t give my teammates 100% of myself in ODIs: Ben Stokes

“I will play my last game for England in ODI cricket on Tuesday in Durham. I have decided to retire from this format. This has been an incredibly tough decision to make. I have loved every minute of playing with my mates for England. We have had an incredible journey on the way,” Stokes wrote in a post shared on Twitter.

“As hard as a decision as this was to come to, it’s not as hard dealing with the fact I can’t give my teammates 100% of myself in this format anymore. The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it. Three formats are just unsustainable for me now. Not only do | feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us, but I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give Jos and the rest of the team their all,” he added.

Stokes’ announcement means he won’t feature in the 2023 ODI World Cup, which is slated to take place in India. Nevertheless, he’s expected to ply his trade in the T20 World Cup later this year. Meanwhile, the southpaw wished England’s white-ball skipper Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott for the future assignments.

“I would like to wish Jos Buttler, Matthew Mott, the players and the support staff every success going forward. We have made great strides in white-ball cricket over the past seven years, and the future looks bright,” he added.