It is ridiculous the amount of cricket that is expected of people to play, schedules need to be looked at: Ben Stokes

England’s new Test skipper Ben Stokes has emphasized the fact that his number one priority is the longest format of the game. The left-handed batter has also expressed that the schedule for matches should be kept after considering the workload on players as well.

It may be noted that the Three Lions will face New Zealand in a three-match Test series. The series will start on June 2 and the last match of the series will start on June 23. The games will played at Lords,  Trent Bridge, and Headingly. This will be Stokes’s first assignment after becoming a full-time skipper.

The schedule is something that needs looking at: Ben Stokes

“The schedule is something that needs looking at. It is ridiculous the amount of cricket that is expected of people. The fact there is a Test match and one-day series overlapping sums it up. It needs looking at from a workload point of view,” Stokes was quoted by Cricbuzz.

“The schedule definitely is something that needs looking at. It’s ridiculous the amount of cricket that is expected of people to play. The fact there is a Test match and a one-day series overlapping sums it up. It really needs looking at from a workload point of view, it is just so much. I want to play as much as I can for England and in an ideal world you would have a schedule that allows you to play everything, but unfortunately, that is not possible. My No. 1 priority is Test cricket at the moment so I have to prioritise that over white ball,” he added.

Talking about Stokes’s numbers in the longest format of the game, the 30-year-old has represented England in 79 matches and has amassed 5061 runs at a decent average of 35.89. He has already stroked 26 fifties, 11 hundreds, and a double hundred to his name. Stokes has also played 101 ODIs and 34 T20Is for England, having scored 2871 and 442 runs respectively.