Ben Stokes tweets blaming clustered ‘schedule’ for England’s poor run in the ODIs
Announcing his retirement from the 50 over format, close to three years after he helped them win the World Cup at home, Stokes had termed the congested cricket calendar as a primary reason for his decision.
Stokes, who retired from ODIs last summer, retweeted a post that questioned, ‘What is England’s biggest issue in ODI cricket?’ after their loss to South Africa in the first ODI.
The all rounder quote tweeted, “Begins with S ends with E and has chedul in there as well.”
Announcing his retirement from the 50 over format, close to three years after he helped them win the World Cup at home, Stokes had termed the congested cricket calendar as a primary reason for his decision.
“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 per cent of myself in this format anymore,” Stokes had said in a statement. “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 (Buttler) and the rest of the team their all.”
England, the defending champions in both ODIs and T20Is, have been on a poor run in the 50 over format. Since 2022, they have only won 5 of their 13 matches. A W/L ratio that is better to only Ireland, Nepal, Zimbabwe, West Indies, PNG and the Netherlands among all the ODI playing nations.
Playing the first of three ODIs in South Africa and chasing 299, England fell short by 27 runs, despite Jason Roy’s century and a 146-run opening stand alongside Dawid Malan.
Playing hosts in a three-match ODI series against the same opposition in 2022, England were unable to register a win as the series ended all square with the final match abandoned.
