England all-rounder Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from the 50 overs format of the game. Stokes will play his last One Day International at his home ground of Durham against the visiting South African team on Tuesday, 19th of July. Stokes will continue to play T20s, and the Test matches, where he is the captain of the England side.
Sharing his decision via his Twitter account, Stokes said that the three formats are unsustainable for him now. He said that his body just can’t keep up with the schedule of all three formats and what is expected of the players. He also mentioned that he didn’t want to take up the place of another player who can give his all for the team and the captain, Jos Buttler.
❤️🏴 pic.twitter.com/xTS5oNfN2j
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 18, 2022
Having made his debut against Ireland in 2011, Ben Stokes has played 104 games for England in the format so far, with his 105th game set to be his last ODI. So far, Stokes has scored 2,919 runs at an average of 39.45 with 3 centuries and also taken 74 wickets at an average of 41.8.
The hero of the 2019 World Cup final
Ben Stokes’ greatest performance in the format came in the biggest ODI game in England’s history. After decades of under-performances and heart-breaks at the World Cup, England finally managed to win the premier event in 2019 and Stokes was the star of the show on the day.
Coming into bat with his team in trouble at 71/3 while chasing the victory target of 242, Stokes scored a fine 84 off just 96 balls as he took England right to the doorstep of victory. He couldn’t get them over the line in the regulation 50 overs as the scores ended up tied after a last-ball runout but he took England to super over where the team won after yet another tie thanks to their superior boundary count.
