Ben Stokes announces retirement from ODI cricket

England Test captain and 2019 World Cup winner Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODIs, with the series-opener against South Africa in Durham on Tuesday, July 18, set to be his last game.
 
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"I can't give my team-mates 100% of myself in this format anymore."

England star all-rounder Ben Stokes has announced that he will retire from ODIs, following the side’s first of three ODIs against South Africa in Durham on Tuesday.

In a statement put on Twitter, Stokes admitted that playing across the three formats is "just unsustainable for me now", and aims to give "everything I have to Test cricket" and "my total commitment to the T20 format".

"I will play my last game for England in ODI cricket on Tuesday in Durham," Stokes said in his statement. "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.

"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.
Three formats are just unsustainable for me now. Not only do | 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.

"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.

"I would like to wish Jos Buttler, Matthew Mott, the players and the support staff every success going forward. We have made great strides in white-ball cricket over the past seven years, and the future looks bright. I have loved all 104 games I have played so far, I've got one more, and it feels amazing to be playing my last game at my home ground in Durham.

"As always, the England fans have always been there for me and will continue to be there. You're the best fans in the world. I hope we can win on Tuesday and set the series up nicely against South Africa."

Stokes registered scores of 0, 21 and 27 in England’s 1-2 ODI series defeat to India recently, after having led the Test side to four successive wins in his first home summer as a full-time captain.

Till date, the all-rounder has scored 2,919 runs at 39.45 and a strike-rate of 95.27, while also having bagged 74 wickets at 41.8 in the 50-over international format. He was a key member to the side’s rise as a formidable ODI force under Eoin Morgan, with his finest moment coming at Lord’s in the 2019 World Cup final, wherein he struck an unbeaten 84 off 98 in a Player of the Final performance.