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Ben Stokes reverses his retirement from One-Day International cricket

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England Men’s all-rounder Ben Stokes has announced that he will retire from one-day international cricket following Tuesday’s Royal London International against South Africa.

Stokes has played 104 ODI matches and is set to end his international career in the format on his home ground at the Seat Unique Riverside.

The 31-year-old’s ODI career will forever be remembered for his Player-of-the-Match performance in the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s.

Stokes’ unbeaten 84 helped to send the match into a Super Over as England claimed their first ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup title in the most thrilling of circumstances.

After making his ODI debut against Ireland in 2011, Stokes has scored 2919 runs, including three centuries, and taken 74 wickets.

He captained the ODI side during last summer’s 3-0 Royal London Series victory against Pakistan and has been an inspirational leader.

Ben Stokes said: "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.

"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 I 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. It’s time for someone else to progress as a cricketer and make incredible memories like I have over the past 11 years.

"I will give everything I have to Test cricket, and now, with this decision, I feel I can also give my total commitment to the T20 format.

"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.

"I have loved all 104 games I have played so far, I’ve got one more, and it feels amazing to be playing my last game at my home ground in Durham.

"As always, the England fans have always been there for me and will continue to be there. You’re the best fans in the world. I hope we can win on Tuesday and set the series up nicely against South Africa."

Clare Connor, interim ECB CEO, said: “Ben Stokes is a superstar in every format of our game. His remarkable contribution to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Final at Lord’s in 2019 enabled England Men to win that prestigious trophy for the first time.

“Ben is not only one of the world’s best players, but an inspirational figure too so our ODI team will miss him. But having taken on the Test captaincy and with today’s busy calendar of cricket, we completely understand and respect his decision.

"We look forward to watching him excite and enthral in an England shirt for many years to come.”

Rob Key, Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, said: “Ben Stokes has had an incredible international career in ODI cricket, culminating in his match-winning performance at the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final.

“I know this must have been a tough decision, but I completely understand why he has reached this conclusion.

“I’m sure that when we look back on Ben’s career and see this as one of the reasons he will play 120-plus Tests and help England in T20 matches and World Cups for many years to come.

“It is a typically selfless decision that will benefit England long-term.”
 
A big match player with gigantic presence. ECB should look to get him to wc2023.
 
Wow! Really surprised with this decision as he is just 31. With him not only overall strength rather 50 overs leadership of England has been left with a lot of vacuum while Buttler is still finding his feet as a captain.

Good luck to him for his future endeavors.
 
World cup is just next year and these players are retiring for fun. Why can't they continue for just one year ?

England team expected to become weaker again after the departure of Morgan and now Stokes.
 
This is Stokes letting everyone know of his choice between ODIs and IPL.
 
boomboomcheema said:
World cup is just next year and these players are retiring for fun. Why can't they continue for just one year ?

England team expected to become weaker again after the departure of Morgan and now Stokes.
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He'd rather win an IPL which is more prestigious
 
Well its not like he can top the performance he gave at the last World Cup. Better to leave on top and concentrate on the most important format of all.

England's ODI team will suffer from his departure though.
 
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Normally you retire from all white ball cricket together and not in piece meal. But I think Ben wants to continue playing in T20s to protect his IPL contract. His priority is ofcourse test cricket where he will give his all and will make some sproadic appearance in T20 internationals for England so that his IPL contract remains intact.
 
Played the greatest knock of all-time and won his team the World Cup. An ODI ATG.
 
Stokes' legacy as an England ODI great is already sealed. How many players in the history of this game can legitimately lay claim to being their country's World Cup hero?

At the end of the day, it all depends on Stokes. If he feels he can't properly focus on all three formats than that's his decision to make.

Personally, I don't find anything shocking about it considering he is one of the few genuine seam bowling all-rounders in the world. And putting in that effort in all three areas can not just be physically taxing, but also make you vulnerable to injuries. Something Stokes has struggled with regularly in the past.

Being England's test captain he rightly feels that he has a responsibility to not get hurt. And the chances of such a thing happening will decrease if he takes ODIs out of the equation.

T20s are easier to play. And I think deep down he probably still feels that he has something to prove in that format because of Kolkata 2016.
 
And with this he is no longer a contender for ODI ATG.
Retiring willy nilly at 31 years of age just 1 year before the 50 over cup?
What's this, a joke?

As someone above said, now he is as much an ODI ATG as James Faulkner.
 
With the schedules that we have been witnessing, its no surprise. Stokes bowls and bats with a lot of intensity even in test cricket and that takes its toll.

This is the start of a trend methinks. Players need T20 for the money and Test matches for the prestige and credibility. ODI cricket will suffer.
 
Not the first time he has put his interests above England cricket’s interests. He has mad his intentions clear - his priorities are Test cricket and IPL.
 
Sadly a sign about the relevance of the ODI format.

Watching the game yesterday, it was the first full ODI game I watched in a while. For the first time in my life, I felt the ODI format needs to be shortened to maybe 40 overs. There's something about it that doesn't seem to be working. I can watch a full day of test cricket between top teams and not feel bored. Not sure what's the problem exactly.
 
Stokes feels that he can’t give 100% of himself to the format anymore, so is putting the team ahead of himself and not blocking up a space. Right decision at the right time.

I think he will be the first of many. With incredibly packed annual schedules, the increasing global scale of T20 leagues & the legendary status that is rightly afforded to Test cricket within the game and from most fans, 50 over cricket finds itself stuck in the middle and frankly in a bit of a perilous moment for its future.

He gets a great farewell game tomorrow on his home ground and it’s going to be a capacity crowd. Not many players can say that.

Thanks for the ODI memories Ben! :)
 
Premature to retire from ODI's with a cricket world cup a year away. I am sure had he had a word with the selectors they would have played him sparingly in ODI's in the lead up to the World Cup.

From his point of view I would say as he has already been a World Cup winner he may believe that box is ticked, I'm sure he has others goals to fulfill, winning the World T20 and the Ashes home and away.
 
Shocking but it makes sense considering 2023 wc is still more than one year away.

So He played only one World Cup in his career and won it for his team. His legacy in odis is already sealed.

By not playing odi cricket he is hardly loosing anything.

This will make it easier for him to participate in IPL or any t20 league of his choice.
And Remain fresh for test cricket where he is needed most for England.

Hopefully this means we get to see Stokes playing test cricket for next 5 years at least.
 
pillionrider said:
Sadly a sign about the relevance of the ODI format.

Watching the game yesterday, it was the first full ODI game I watched in a while. For the first time in my life, I felt the ODI format needs to be shortened to maybe 40 overs. There's something about it that doesn't seem to be working. I can watch a full day of test cricket between top teams and not feel bored. Not sure what's the problem exactly.
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It’s like 50 overs is a bit too long. The batsmen seem to demonstrate this most of all. Batters are fully adjusted to T20 cricket now and are also capable of playing a long innings in a Test match, but they seem unsure of how to approach the middle range of 50 overs.

In all of the recent England-India, England-Netherlands and Windies-Bangladesh ODI matches, only once or twice has any team batted the full quota of 300 balls.
 
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pillionrider said:
Sadly a sign about the relevance of the ODI format.

Watching the game yesterday, it was the first full ODI game I watched in a while. For the first time in my life, I felt the ODI format needs to be shortened to maybe 40 overs. There's something about it that doesn't seem to be working. I can watch a full day of test cricket between top teams and not feel bored. Not sure what's the problem exactly.
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ODI cricket is still the best tournament format for me. The rule changes, 2 new balls in particular, destroyed ODI's somewhat. On flat pitches, it became an extended T20.

They need to bring back 1 ball and ensure that the boundaries are pushed right back etc.
 
Mamoon said:
Not the first time he has put his interests above England cricket’s interests. He has mad his intentions clear - his priorities are Test cricket and IPL.
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Questionable if his priorities include test cricket. He was just at the right place at the right time when he got the captaincy. Remains to be seen how long he can carry on with the facade.
 
Brilliant decision, but he should retain the right to come back for the World Cup rather like Trent Boult did.
 
Interesting to see the mixed response from elsewhere. England fans are very much supportive of this decision.
 
Champ_Pal said:
Read my post again. World Cups matter and bilateral ODI's used to matter.
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If they used to matter, then all that was achieved in the past also is irrelevant

There seems to be a strong Indian fan agenda here to make it seem as if ODI cricket (iconic format) is irrelevant now because they want to create more room for the IPL window (useless cricket)
 
Good luck to him and his decision must be respected,it goes to show again how weak and selfish these guys are and also show lack of personal attachment once players had with the game.
 
Beginning of the end of ODI cricket. Has become quite an irrelevant format in modern day cricket. Sad because I always felt the ODI world cup is the proper world cup.
 
TOP SPINNER_01 said:
Good luck to him and his decision must be respected,it goes to show again how weak and selfish these guys are and also show lack of personal attachment once players had with the game.
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Selfish and weak ? Lol. that's how you respected his decision.

Don't forget he is an allrounder and gives his 200% in test cricket everytime he steps on the field.

He Just want to avoid one format in later stages of his career to maximize his interest test cricket and cash in some t20 league opportunities.
 
I feel like he hasn’t been the same since the mental health episode of last year. The passion is not there any more after winning the WC…
 
Mamoon said:
Not the first time he has put his interests above England cricket’s interests. He has mad his intentions clear - his priorities are Test cricket and IPL.
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Why don’t you tell us more about how he’s a quitter and it was the wrong decision to appoint him test captain over the disaster that was Joe Root.
 
He should be brought in specifically for the crunch matches in the World Cup only. Otherwise never play an ODI game again.

Big match player who can be used wisely.
 
Forum363 said:
Why don’t you tell us more about how he’s a quitter and it was the wrong decision to appoint him test captain over the disaster that was Joe Root.
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Of course he is a quitter. He continues to put himself above England cricket.

Last year, he made himself unavailable for the two most important assignments of English cricket for the year - India series and the World T20.

Now he has walked away from ODI cricket at the age of 31, 1 year before England defends the World Cup in India and right after England lost its talisman and leader. Moreover, he remains the premier all-rounder in England by a mile.

It was time for him to step up as a leader and senior player and help England in this transition period, but as usual, his interests come first. Why can’t he give his best in the ODI format?

If he wants to manage his workload, why doesn’t he quit T20I and franchise cricket? These days, teams play more T20s than ODIs. England will be playing 7 T20Is in Pakistan in a few months.

This decision was made from a financial perspective, nothing to do with workload **. Stokes should have never been trusted with a leadership role after what he did last year because he is simply not reliable or dependable anymore.

He can walk away at any given moment and not look back.

Joe Root is always there for England. He has never played the mental health card or come up with any other bogus excuse to make himself unavailable.

Everything looks good when you are winning - the real test of character comes when you lose - a couple of heavy defeats and Stokes will leave Test captaincy or run away and play the mental health card again.

Root should unbelievable resilience as captain, stood by the team when they were on a losing streak and absorbed the pressure. Given by what Stokes has done over the last couple of years, he will be the first one to jump ship.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bi lateral ODI / T20 series will have to go if all the boards around the world are desperate for there own Franchise tournaments !! Something has to give .. It shouldn’t be players retiring from one format aged 31 !!!!</p>— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVaughan/status/1549060299290038272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
The only solution for this thing to stop is by shelving bilateral T20I cricket.

It should be Tests, ODIs and franchise T20 cricket ( which can be considered as a part of preparation) for a World T20 which should happen only once in two years.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Stokes' legacy as an England ODI great is already sealed. How many players in the history of this game can legitimately lay claim to being their country's World Cup hero?

At the end of the day, it all depends on Stokes. If he feels he can't properly focus on all three formats than that's his decision to make.

Personally, I don't find anything shocking about it considering he is one of the few genuine seam bowling all-rounders in the world. And putting in that effort in all three areas can not just be physically taxing, but also make you vulnerable to injuries. Something Stokes has struggled with regularly in the past.

Being England's test captain he rightly feels that he has a responsibility to not get hurt. And the chances of such a thing happening will decrease if he takes ODIs out of the equation.

T20s are easier to play. And I think deep down he probably still feels that he has something to prove in that format because of Kolkata 2016.
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England isn't Stokes country though.
 
LegendAli said:
England isn't Stokes country though.
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Hmm I think that he played all of his cricket in England since age 12, and I tend to see him playing for England; and I also believe that he is the England captain, and that he has masterminded numerous victories for England over the nation you are implicitly referring to!… So I guess that means England is his country!
 
Mamoon said:
Of course he is a quitter. He continues to put himself above England cricket.

Last year, he made himself unavailable for the two most important assignments of English cricket for the year - India series and the World T20.

Now he has walked away from ODI cricket at the age of 31, 1 year before England defends the World Cup in India and right after England lost its talisman and leader. Moreover, he remains the premier all-rounder in England by a mile.

It was time for him to step up as a leader and senior player and help England in this transition period, but as usual, his interests come first. Why can’t he give his best in the ODI format?

If he wants to manage his workload, why doesn’t he quit T20I and franchise cricket? These days, teams play more T20s than ODIs. England will be playing 7 T20Is in Pakistan in a few months.

This decision was made from a financial perspective, nothing to do with workload **. Stokes should have never been trusted with a leadership role after what he did last year because he is simply not reliable or dependable anymore.

He can walk away at any given moment and not look back.

Joe Root is always there for England. He has never played the mental health card or come up with any other bogus excuse to make himself unavailable.

Everything looks good when you are winning - the real test of character comes when you lose - a couple of heavy defeats and Stokes will leave Test captaincy or run away and play the mental health card again.

Root should unbelievable resilience as captain, stood by the team when they were on a losing streak and absorbed the pressure. Given by what Stokes has done over the last couple of years, he will be the first one to jump ship.
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100% agree.
 
Mamoon said:
Of course he is a quitter. He continues to put himself above England cricket.

Last year, he made himself unavailable for the two most important assignments of English cricket for the year - India series and the World T20.

Now he has walked away from ODI cricket at the age of 31, 1 year before England defends the World Cup in India and right after England lost its talisman and leader. Moreover, he remains the premier all-rounder in England by a mile.

It was time for him to step up as a leader and senior player and help England in this transition period, but as usual, his interests come first. Why can’t he give his best in the ODI format?

If he wants to manage his workload, why doesn’t he quit T20I and franchise cricket? These days, teams play more T20s than ODIs. England will be playing 7 T20Is in Pakistan in a few months.

This decision was made from a financial perspective, nothing to do with workload **. Stokes should have never been trusted with a leadership role after what he did last year because he is simply not reliable or dependable anymore.

He can walk away at any given moment and not look back.

Joe Root is always there for England. He has never played the mental health card or come up with any other bogus excuse to make himself unavailable.

Everything looks good when you are winning - the real test of character comes when you lose - a couple of heavy defeats and Stokes will leave Test captaincy or run away and play the mental health card again.

Root should unbelievable resilience as captain, stood by the team when they were on a losing streak and absorbed the pressure. Given by what Stokes has done over the last couple of years, he will be the first one to jump ship.
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oh come on. you are over analyzing things now. if stokes was a quitter then he would have never accepted captaincy first place.

it's such a bitter thing to doubt someone's mental health.

2023 World Cup is still more than one year away so it's good decision to quit now than play the World Cup with half heart.

with this decision he has proved his Committment to his best format which is test cricket. He has prioritised playing test cricket for his country more than odi worldcup that's the bottom line. While still keeping t20 career alive to cash in quick money just like everyone else in the game.

As a captain we will see how he reacts to defeats.

Being an allrounder his workload is way higher than many current superstars of the game which must be taken consideration before judging him for his decision.
 
expected to happen after 2023 WC. But that is in India and Stokes is not a great ODI player despite once in a lifetime innings. He will also struggle under Indian conditions. Expect him to retire from T20Is too after WC. He will concentrate on Tests, which is his best format, along with T20s. Good for him
 
introvert said:
oh come on. you are over analyzing things now. if stokes was a quitter then he would have never accepted captaincy first place.

it's such a bitter thing to doubt someone's mental health.

2023 World Cup is still more than one year away so it's good decision to quit now than play the World Cup with half heart.

with this decision he has proved his Committment to his best format which is test cricket. He has prioritised playing test cricket for his country more than odi worldcup that's the bottom line. While still keeping t20 career alive to cash in quick money just like everyone else in the game.

As a captain we will see how he reacts to defeats.

Being an allrounder his workload is way higher than many current superstars of the game which must be taken consideration before judging him for his decision.
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I don't know what you are expecting from a known misogynist who questioned the claims of the women cricketers that forward with the troubling revelations that they were raped and sexually assaulted by a PCB coach Nadeem Khan earlier this month. He has also more or less called players cowards for deciding to focus on their mental health. People like him, who are set on their dogmatic ways are not worth wasting your time over.
 
good on him, more should follow suit so ppl realise the odi format is dead, its just a crash bang wallop cash cow for the ICC.
 
Ben Stokes announced that he would retire from ODI cricket after the first ODI against South Africa in Chester-le-Street on Tuesday, July 19.

In an ODI career that spanned more than a decade, Stokes played 104 ODIs, scaling several peaks including rising to No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC Men's ODI all-rounder rankings. Elevated to Test captaincy recently, Stokes cited three formats as "unsustainable" for him in the social media post he shared announcing the decision. Last year, Stokes had taken an indefinite mental health break but returned to the national side for the Ashes series Down Under.

An outstanding all-rounder, Stokes etched his name into the record books with a Player of the Match performance in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final in 2019. Here's revisiting some of his best performances in the format, including the one on that glittery night in July three years ago.

70 and 4/38 vs Australia, Perth 2014

The first Player of the Match performance from Ben Stokes came against an opposition he would go on to torment a few times in his career. In Perth in 2014, Stokes, still less than 20 ODIs into his career, walked in at No.3 and smashed 70 off 84 balls, his maiden ODI fifty, to lift England to 316 batting first. He returned with the ball to prize out stand-in skipper George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner and Mitchell Johnson to finish with figures of 4/38.


71* vs Pakistan, Nottingham 2019

With a tall target of 341 staring at them, England raced off the blocks with a Jason Roy hundred, but soon lost four wickets in the space of 15 runs to be reduced to 216/5. Stokes strung together vital partnerships with Joe Denly and Tom Curran to take England past 300. In the penultimate over, with England needing 16 from 11 balls, Stokes struck a crucial six and then saw off the run chase with three balls to spare.


99 vs India, Pune 2021

In another steep run chase, Ben Stokes once again stood tall, walking in at No.3 and making Jonny Bairstow's work easier with his stunning strike rate. With India having made 336, England had their task cut out, but Bairstow hit a hundred from the top of the order and Stokes walked in at No.3 and raced to his fifty in 40 balls. The southpaw upped the ante from there, smashing 49 runs in his next 12 deliveries, but fell one short of the three-figure mark while attempting a pull off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The strike rate of 190.38 proved to be massive for England in the run chase as they won with more than six overs to spare.


89, 2/12 and 2 catches vs South Africa, The Oval, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019

Ben Stokes lit up the home World Cup on the opening day with a dream all-round performance. After top-scoring for his team with a cracking 79-ball 89, Stokes went on to make a massive impact on the field with a spectacular catch, later hailed as the 'catch of the century' by former England player Phil Tufnell, near the ropes to send back Andile Phehlukwayo. He then finished off the tail with a couple of wickets to complete a Player of the Match performance.


84* vs New Zealand, Lord's, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final 2019

The best of Ben Stokes came on the biggest stage of them all - the World Cup final at the Home of Cricket. Chasing 242 for a win, the hosts were reduced to 86/4 when Stokes joined hands with Jos Buttler. The duo put on a century stand before Buttler was dismissed, sparking a mini-collapse of sorts. Stokes stood on till the end, though, and although he couldn't quite see England through, he ensured he would take them to the Super Over, where he scored eight of the 15 runs England made. In a game that was decided by the boundary count, it's worth remembering that no one scored more of them than Stokes, who walked away with the Player of the Match award in the edge-of-the-seat thriller.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2682012
 
introvert said:
oh come on. you are over analyzing things now. if stokes was a quitter then he would have never accepted captaincy first place.

it's such a bitter thing to doubt someone's mental health.

2023 World Cup is still more than one year away so it's good decision to quit now than play the World Cup with half heart.

with this decision he has proved his Committment to his best format which is test cricket. He has prioritised playing test cricket for his country more than odi worldcup that's the bottom line. While still keeping t20 career alive to cash in quick money just like everyone else in the game.

As a captain we will see how he reacts to defeats.

Being an allrounder his workload is way higher than many current superstars of the game which must be taken consideration before judging him for his decision.
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After Stokes retires from ODIs after the first ODI, England will be playing a grand total of 7 ODIs until the 2023 World Cup. What will he achieve by skipping these ODIs? How much toll would these ODIs have taken on his body?

Stokes is fooling nobody with this workload **. He is an incredibly selfish cricketer who doesn't think twice before putting himself above the team.

He could have easily retired from ODIs after the World Cup. He wasn't going to die or force himself into a wheelchair by playing these 7 ODIs. Heck, he could have skipped a few ODIs, played 3-4, and played the World Cup.

The fact is that he doesn't care - he has already won the World Cup, he produced a performance for the ages and the interests of the England team means nothing to him.
 
^ After Stokes retires from ODIs after the first ODI vs South Africa**
 
ElRaja said:
good on him, more should follow suit so ppl realise the odi format is dead, its just a crash bang wallop cash cow for the ICC.
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If 50 over tournaments are profitable, they aren't exactly dead are they?

The real elephant in the room is test cricket. Most boards make losses while hosting test cricket and it consumes a lot of time but somehow they are trying to make a format relevant with laughable ideas like the test championship.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
If 50 over tournaments are profitable, they aren't exactly dead are they?

The real elephant in the room is test cricket. Most boards make losses while hosting test cricket and it consumes a lot of time but somehow they are trying to make a format relevant with laughable ideas like the test championship.
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The Test championship seems laughable to Indian fans because BCCI doesn’t take it seriously like all other boards and gives a fair home and away tour to all Test nations.

The real elephant in the room is BCCI/Indian Government and IPL
 
Well they isolated one of the top test teams for over decade. They thought they will destroy pak cricket but it hasnt worked like that.
 
Rana said:
The Test championship seems laughable to Indian fans because BCCI doesn’t take it seriously like all other boards and gives a fair home and away tour to all Test nations.

The real elephant in the room is BCCI/Indian Government and IPL
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Buddy, broadcasters around the world will value Test cricket even less in the coming years and as it is even in India, where Test cricket was traditionally profitable, it has been proven that the format is being overvalued.

Apart from India, Australia and England, hosting test cricket is difficult to even break even on its own . You have to subsidise it with T20 league /ICC tournament profits- basically from white ball cricket.
Even your precious PCB would willingly play T20's ahead of Tests. BCCI has nothing to do with it :91:
 
Nikhil_cric said:
If 50 over tournaments are profitable, they aren't exactly dead are they?

The real elephant in the room is test cricket. Most boards make losses while hosting test cricket and it consumes a lot of time but somehow they are trying to make a format relevant with laughable ideas like the test championship.
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and yet despite being "laughable", and the largest physical commitment a player can make, most top players turn out, match in, match out, for their test teams. reminds me of the old saying, how poor is the man who can only measure his wealth in money.
 
James said:
Interesting to see the mixed response from elsewhere. England fans are very much supportive of this decision.
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I’m surprised if that is the reaction of most proper English cricket fans.

All this talk of a difficult schedule etc etc is a bit of a nonsense if I’m honest. Yes a lot of cricket is played throughout the year. But the rest of us go to work 5 days a week or more, many doing long hours, and unlike Ben Stokes, most of us don’t get to hit a ball around a park for millions of pounds. Compared to the average person, these guys have unbelievably good lives.

When someone makes a decision like this and all the talk is focussed on scheduling, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking these players are being sent to fight wars or worse!

What Stokes is doing today is saying meh, I’m rich, I will make plenty more in leagues etc and my priority in life is no longer wearing that England shirt as many times as possible. I want to wear the England shirt, but I am no longer the same person who dreamed of playing for England for as long as possible.

It is all a question of priorities. In years gone by, the priority was always England. It’s simply not anymore. Now, league cricket and other things (e.g. free time) is the priority.

There is nothing wrong with that mentality - everyone is entitled to do with their life as they please.

But please, let’s for once call a spade a spade, and not avoid the issue entirely by talking about “scheduling issues”. It’s like Stokes has chosen to throw in the towel and yet it’s someone else’s fault. No - if Stokes wanted to play, if he had that desire in his belly, he would have made the schedule work by prioritising England over leagues and other things.

Personally I always feel a little angry when players, who owe everything to their national shirt, the shirt that got them fame, fortune and everything else, choose to abandon that shirt for personal profit. That too when their country needs them. You James might be fine with that. I personally think Stokes’ decision stinks.
 
Usman said:
I’m surprised if that is the reaction of most proper English cricket fans.

All this talk of a difficult schedule etc etc is a bit of a nonsense if I’m honest. Yes a lot of cricket is played throughout the year. But the rest of us go to work 5 days a week or more, many doing long hours, and unlike Ben Stokes, most of us don’t get to hit a ball around a park for millions of pounds. Compared to the average person, these guys have unbelievably good lives.

When someone makes a decision like this and all the talk is focussed on scheduling, you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking these players are being sent to fight wars or worse!

What Stokes is doing today is saying meh, I’m rich, I will make plenty more in leagues etc and my priority in life is no longer wearing that England shirt as many times as possible. I want to wear the England shirt, but I am no longer the same person who dreamed of playing for England for as long as possible.

It is all a question of priorities. In years gone by, the priority was always England. It’s simply not anymore. Now, league cricket and other things (e.g. free time) is the priority.

There is nothing wrong with that mentality - everyone is entitled to do with their life as they please.

But please, let’s for once call a spade a spade, and not avoid the issue entirely by talking about “scheduling issues”. It’s like Stokes has chosen to throw in the towel and yet it’s someone else’s fault. No - if Stokes wanted to play, if he had that desire in his belly, he would have made the schedule work by prioritising England over leagues and other things.

Personally I always feel a little angry when players, who owe everything to their national shirt, the shirt that got them fame, fortune and everything else, choose to abandon that shirt for personal profit. That too when their country needs them. You James might be fine with that. I personally think Stokes’ decision stinks.
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You are overanalysing this.

He knows his own body and mind best. He is dropping a format to prolong his career and to give himself the best chance of being a successful Test captain for 4-5 years instead of burning out after a couple of winters and retiring altogether. He knows how much England need his leadership and tactical nous in Test cricket.

He is also moving aside for someone who will give 100% in the ODI side because he feels that he cannot give all of himself to the format and does not want to be blocking a place in the team.

Not a selfish decision. A selfless one.
 
Sad news for cricket fans.

I still hope he plays the 2023 world cup but doesn't look like he is changing his mind soon.

All boards are to be blamed for this. 2019 world cup was such a hit but still no team played a decent number of ODI'S. It was tests or T20's.

T20's should just be domestic leagues + a world cup. Never ever enjoyed a bilateral T20I series.
 
ElRaja said:
and yet despite being "laughable", and the largest physical commitment a player can make, most top players turn out, match in, match out, for their test teams. reminds me of the old saying, how poor is the man who can only measure his wealth in money.
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Actually this is not true . We have seen the likes of Gayle, AB, even the likes of Adil Rashid etc. give up the long format . If Boards gave players greater freedom to pick choose formats , I'd like to see how many non Big 3 players would continue to choose Test cricket over the LO formats
 
Mamoon said:
After Stokes retires from ODIs after the first ODI, England will be playing a grand total of 7 ODIs until the 2023 World Cup. What will he achieve by skipping these ODIs? How much toll would these ODIs have taken on his body?

Stokes is fooling nobody with this workload **. He is an incredibly selfish cricketer who doesn't think twice before putting himself above the team.

He could have easily retired from ODIs after the World Cup. He wasn't going to die or force himself into a wheelchair by playing these 7 ODIs. Heck, he could have skipped a few ODIs, played 3-4, and played the World Cup.

The fact is that he doesn't care - he has already won the World Cup, he produced a performance for the ages and the interests of the England team means nothing to him.
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Think logically. How could England can only play 7 odis before 2023 worldcup? Impossible.

Below is relevant excerpt from recent article about Ben stokes on cricinfo

"Between the start of June 2022 and the end of March 2023, England will play over 100 days of men's international cricket: 12 Tests, 18 ODIs, 19 bilateral T20Is and a T20 World Cup, spread across seven different countries. It is exhausting to think about, let alone play in; no wonder their all-format fast bowlers are in the midst of a collective injury crisis."

So that's 18 odis till end of March 2023. Now logically there will be few more bilateral series played before the worldcup to prepare for it. Enough time and matches for England to figure out their team combination for 2023 worldcup.

It's a good decision by Ben stokes imo and only he could afford to make such decision because he has won 2019 worldcup and sealed his odi legacy.
 
introvert said:
Think logically. How could England can only play 7 odis before 2023 worldcup? Impossible.

Below is relevant excerpt from recent article about Ben stokes on cricinfo

"Between the start of June 2022 and the end of March 2023, England will play over 100 days of men's international cricket: 12 Tests, 18 ODIs, 19 bilateral T20Is and a T20 World Cup, spread across seven different countries. It is exhausting to think about, let alone play in; no wonder their all-format fast bowlers are in the midst of a collective injury crisis."

So that's 18 odis till end of March 2023. Now logically there will be few more bilateral series played before the worldcup to prepare for it. Enough time and matches for England to figure out their team combination for 2023 worldcup.

It's a good decision by Ben stokes imo and only he could afford to make such decision because he has won 2019 worldcup and sealed his odi legacy.
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Edit : Out of those 18 odis 7 will be completed after first odi against South Africa series as odis against Netherlands and India were part of it. so that leaves 11 odis + likely bilateral odis before world cup to find stokes replacement in playing 11.
 
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DT reporting Stokes and ECB have had friction of late.

Sounds more like a protest retirement to me.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Actually this is not true . We have seen the likes of Gayle, AB, even the likes of Adil Rashid etc. give up the long format . If Boards gave players greater freedom to pick choose formats , I'd like to see how many non Big 3 players would continue to choose Test cricket over the LO formats
Click to expand...

The reasons are also important here. Didn’t Rashid cease playing red ball cricket because of a chronic shoulder injury and only being able to bowl a certain number of overs in a season. Gayle’s back is in pieces, hence him gradually winding down his career and his stand-and-deliver batting style. ABDV was burned out. (And QDK sort of sounded like he gave up Test cricket because he couldn’t be bothered lol.)

So apart from one of the players above, the retirements are in the same category as Stokes ie some kind of physical or mental fitness factor. They just retired from a different format.
 
James said:
The reasons are also important here. Didn’t Rashid cease playing red ball cricket because of a chronic shoulder injury and only being able to bowl a certain number of overs in a season. Gayle’s back is in pieces, hence him gradually winding down his career and his stand-and-deliver batting style. ABDV was burned out. (And QDK sort of sounded like he gave up Test cricket because he couldn’t be bothered lol.)

So apart from one of the players above, the retirements are in the same category as Stokes ie some kind of physical or mental fitness factor. They just retired from a different format.
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Retiring from Test cricket makes more sense if players use the body toll reason.

Here we have Stokes who retires from ODI, but continues with Tests and T20, and given the number of T20 matches/schedule, he'll probably end up playing more overs in T20 vs. ODI going forwards.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Retiring from Test cricket makes more sense if players use the body toll reason.

Here we have Stokes who retires from ODI, but continues with Tests and T20, and given the number of T20 matches/schedule, he'll probably end up playing more overs in T20 vs. ODI going forwards.
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There are 64 ODIs for England over the next 4 years in the new FTPs. That is 64 extra matches and also additional days on tour around the matches. Retiring from the format will make a big difference for him. It likely claws back an additional 100-120 precious days of time with his family and physical/mental rest.

(A sensational one-off return for the 2023 World Cup tournament also surely cannot be ruled out yet, given his stature as a player.)
 
James said:
There are 64 ODIs for England over the next 4 years in the new FTPs. That is 64 extra matches and also additional days on tour around the matches. Retiring from the format will make a big difference for him. It likely claws back an additional 100-120 precious days of time with his family and physical/mental rest.

(A sensational one-off return for the 2023 World Cup tournament also surely cannot be ruled out yet, given his stature as a player.)
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And to think back in the day the FTP schedules were jam packed and players never complained of physical/mental rest.

If Stokes does return for the 2023 WC, then he will drop in stature. Bails a year before defending the title, only to make a last minute appearance.

Personally it would make more sense for him to retire from T20 format.
 
It is hard to digest this decision but I believe he must have made up his mind during the break he took.

Post 2022 t20 worldcup Ideally he should retire from t20 internationals as well.

Which will clear his way to play t20 league of his choice every year when he is not playing test cricket for England.
 
Good for Stokes, preserving himself for another five years of the pure form of cricket.
 
James said:
You are overanalysing this.

He knows his own body and mind best. He is dropping a format to prolong his career and to give himself the best chance of being a successful Test captain for 4-5 years instead of burning out after a couple of winters and retiring altogether. He knows how much England need his leadership and tactical nous in Test cricket.

He is also moving aside for someone who will give 100% in the ODI side because he feels that he cannot give all of himself to the format and does not want to be blocking a place in the team.

Not a selfish decision. A selfless one.
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This.
 
Robert said:
Good for Stokes, preserving himself for another five years of the pure form of cricket.
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Yes, I maintain the same as well. It is a good decision but hope he can play tests for 3-4 years atleast till he is performing well.
 
Ben Stokes is not revealing all the reasons, there is something more behind his decision to retire from ODI.

All you have to do is watch the interview with Nasser Hussain on SKY before the ODI vs SA this afternoon; Stokes couldn’t give a straight answer let alone straight forward.
 
I don't think the World Cup is any motivation for him having won it the last time out. So if he has to choose, bowing out of this format makes sense.

ODIs are taxing and serve no purpose as an international cricketer outside of World Cups. T20 is fun and pays better, while Tests bring about the occasion and the toughest challenges.
 
l_17163_061902_updates.jpg


His farewell today in 1st ODI against South Africa
 
England all-rounder Ben Stokes says his retirement from one-day internationals should be a wake-up call for the authorities about the intense schedule.

The 31-year-old said on Monday that Tuesday's 50-over match against South Africa will be his last in the format.

He says he has taken the decision to extend his Test and Twenty20 career.

"There is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats now," said Stokes, who became England's Test captain in April.

"We are not cars, you can't just fill us up and we'll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again."

England played four Tests, against New Zealand and India, between 2 June and 5 July.

While those series were ongoing, England played three ODIs in the Netherlands and two days after the India Test ended, a three-match T20 series began, followed by three ODIs.

England will now play three ODIs, three T20s and three Tests against South Africa by 12 September, having finished the India ODI series on Sunday.

In the next 12 months England will play more than 100 days of men's international cricket across all formats.

Stokes said he made his decision after the first ODI against India and said he spoke to England's veteran bowler Stuart Broad, who played his last 50-over match in 2016 but remains a Test regular aged 36.

"Hopefully when I'm still playing at 36 I can look back at this moment and say it was a big reason behind why I'm still able to get out on the park and represent England in Test cricket," Stokes told BBC Test Match Special.

Stokes' 105-game ODI career will be best remembered for his match-winning contribution in the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand.

But he appeared to rule out coming out of retirement when England defend their title in India next year.

"You obviously think about stuff like that but what I don't want to be doing is saying 'Nah, I won't play that' but when an ICC event comes up, 'Yeah'," said Stokes.

"This gives an amazing opportunity for somebody to come in and get experience and then hopefully go and win that World Cup again like we did in 2019.

"It wouldn't be fair on anyone who gets that opportunity with me not playing this format now to all of a sudden be like 'Yeah, I'll come back'."

BBC
 
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