England’s Test captain 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.
Stokes was England’s World Cup hero in 2019 at home. His 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.
Accounting his retirement in a statement, 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.
❤️🏴 pic.twitter.com/xTS5oNfN2j
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 18, 2022
“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,” he added.
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.
“Three formats are just unsustainable for me” – Ben Stokes
Stokes further added that it is difficult to sustain all three formats, which is why he decided to retire from the 50-over format. However, the Durham all-rounder asserted that he remains full committed to Test and T20I formats.
“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,” Stokes added.
“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,” he concluded.
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