Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Ben Stokes retires from ODIs: A look at England’s insane schedule since late 2020 | England’s unforgiving schedule since the backend of 2020
England Test skipper Ben Stokes’ retirement from One Day Internationals (ODI) has opened up debate on the tightly-packed scheduling of international cricket. Stokes, England’s World Cup-winning star from 2019, will play his last ODI at Chester-le-Street against South Africa on Tuesday.
“With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through,” the all-rounder explained the rationale behind his sudden announcement.
“Three formats are just unsustainable for me now. I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us,” Stokes further added, as reported by ESPNCricinfo.
The all-rounder’s statement has turned the attention towards the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the arguably hectic line of fixtures that they have drawn out for the senior team.
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Ben Stokes retires from ODI: Number of matches in England’s schedule since COVID break in 2020
The English men’s team has played 21 ODIs, 30 Tests and 34 T20Is since the brief Covid-induced break in the middle of 2020. India and Australia have featured in 21 and 14 Test matches respectively in the same time period.
| Tests | ODIs | T20Is | |
| England | 30 | 21 | 34 |
| India | 21 | 18 | 35 |
| Australia | 14 | 17 | 37 |
Recently, a trend has developed of international teams playing simultaneous series against different teams. A second-string Indian side played a couple of T20Is in Ireland recently at a time when the Test team was battling it out in the series decider at Edgbaston. England played an ODI series in Netherlands when their Test side was competing against New Zealand at home last month.
This arguably frenetic scheduling is unlikely to ease down anytime soon. The International Cricket Council (ICC) will be holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Birmingham next week. The council will be giving its nod to the Future Tours Program (FTP) for the 2023-27 duration.
ESPNCricinfo says to have obtained a near-final draft of the document and it highlights that England will feature in 42 Tests, 44 ODIs and 52 T20Is over the coming four-year-period. These numbers do not include the various ICC tournaments that will take place at that time.
In these circumstances, Stokes’ retirement seems to be a viable decision aimed at prolonging his Test career.
The 32-year-old has prioritised red-ball cricket multiple times in recent years. He even pulled out of the much-anticipated mega-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this year in a bid to keep himself fresh for the demands of Test cricket. That resolve must have strengthened after assuming captaincy in the longest-format of the game this year.
Stokes had a pretty decorated ODI career as he notched 2919 runs and picked 74 wickets for England in 104 games. He was named the ‘Man of the Match’ in the final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup for his unbeaten 84* in the chase in addition to his heroics in the subsequent Super Over.
England will be facing South Africa in a three-game ODI series at home starting from Tuesday onwards.
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