England great Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODI cricket. The decision comes a day after England’s ODI series loss against Rohit Sharma-led India. Stokes will play his last ODI on July 19 in Durham against South Africa and bid adieu to the 50-over format. Stokes was the ‘Man of the match’ in England’s maiden ODI World Cup title win over New Zealand in the final at Lord’s.
Stokes' full statement
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.
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 I feel that my body is letting me down because of the scheduled 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 cricket and make incredible memories like I have over the last 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 the 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 ODI career in numbers
Stokes made his ODI debut on August 25, 2011 against Ireland at Dublin. The southpaw got dismissed for a single-digit score on his debut. Ahead of his last ODI match against the Proteas, he scored 2,919 runs from 89 innings at an average of 39.44 including three centuries and 21 half-centuries. His best knock came in World Cup 2019 final where he took England home against New Zealand.
