England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the first One Day International against South Africa tomorrow. This game is slated to be played at his home ground Chester Le-Street, Durham.
Stokes represented England in 104 ODIs scoring 2919 runs at an average of 39.44. The southpaw scored three hundreds and 21 fifties in the format.
The most memorable performance with the bat from Stokes in ODI cricket was his stupendous knock at the grand stage of the World Cup Final in 2019. The all-rounder scored 84 off 98 balls smashing five fours and two sixes. Stokes was England’s last hope in the finals as he was left with the tail to guide his team to their first-ever world cup triumph. The 31-year-old held his nerve in the final over and smashed a six on the third ball as England needed 15 from the last four balls.
The batter took calculated risks in the final overs and played the knock of his life as England managed to tie with New Zealand and later won the Super Over on the ‘boundary-count rule’ to have their hands on their first-ever World Cup Trophy. Stokes was awarded ‘Player of the match’ for his remarkable performance.
The All-rounder has also picked up 74 wickets at an average of 41.79 with one five-wicket haul to his name. In an official statement released on the website of ECB, Stokes thanked his fans for their support and shed light on the reason behind his sudden retirement.
“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,” Stokes said in the 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 and the rest of the team their all,” the allrounder added.
Stokes further wished England Captain Jos Buttler good luck for times ahead and also talked about his commitment to Test and T20 cricket going forward.
“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,” the world cup champion added.
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— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 18, 2022
