- Mar 4, 2024
- Jan 28, 2024
England all-rounder Ben Stokes left the cricketing fraternity in shock as he has announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the first One Day International against South Africa scheduled to be played at his home ground at Chester Le Street tomorrow. The star all-rounder will be forever remembered for his heroics in the World Cup final of 2019 that was instrumental in leading England to their first-ever world cup title.
The batter donned the English shirt 104 times in ODI cricket scoring 2919 at an average of 39. He also scored 3 hundreds and 21 fifties in his career.
The all-rounder scored 465 runs in 11 matches averaging 66 at the grand stage of the cricket world cup 2019. The all-rounder also put his bowling prowess on display as he took seven wickets as well in the tournament with the best bowling figures of 3/23. Stokes saved his best for the final of the ‘marquee event’ as he scored a brilliant 84 off 98 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes. Stokes stood like a rock on the pitch as he didn’t let the Kiwi bowlers get better of him and held his nerve till the very end in a thrilling final.
The 31-year-old has also picked up 74 wickets at an average of 41.79 with one five-wicket haul to his name in his ODI career. The all-rounder announced his retirement on Monday evening leaving his fans stunned. The England cricket board released an official statement by Stokes on their website where he thanked his fans for their support throughout his career and also explained the reason behind his decision.
“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 world cup winner added.
Stokes further said that his commitment will now shift towards Test and T20I cricket. He also wished the England Captain Jos Buttler good luck for the future endeavours of the team.
Here’s how Twitter is reacting to Stokes’ sudden retirement.
Ben Stokes’ retirement from ODIs should send a message to administrations about the crammed schedules. The best players can only do so much. Something has to give.
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) July 18, 2022
Crazy to think that the 2019 World Cup will end up being the only one that Ben Stokes ever plays in.
During it, he scored 465 runs @ 66.42 with a strike rate of 93.18. When you factor in that final as well – that's some way of leaving his mark on the tournament/format.
— Yas Rana (@Yas_Wisden) July 18, 2022
Ben Stokes' retirement statement and the fact that just about every multi-format seamer in the country is injured makes it abundantly clear that something has to change in England's schedule
Prediction: nothing will
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) July 18, 2022
Not surprised that Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from ODIs. Like he mentioned, it's nearly impossible for anyone to sustain playing all 3 formats and do it well enough. And when you're the captain & an all rounder of a team that plays most Tests, it's even tougher.
— Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) July 18, 2022
The World Cup final will forever be the Ben Stokes ODI moment. Tomorrow is his last game against South Africa. England will miss him in the format. @benstokes38
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) July 18, 2022
"Ben Stokes you are the most competitive bloke I have ever played against, Respect." – Virat Kohli
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) July 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/Aslam654_/status/1549004764574191616?s=20&t=fRGZDpiVDNW4UkKEnSmSow
Ben Stokes should have stayed till 2023 World Cup. Huge miss for England.
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) July 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/kingashu1008/status/1549016512769298432?s=20&t=fRGZDpiVDNW4UkKEnSmSow
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁, 𝗕𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗸𝗲𝘀! 🥺❤️
🏴’s World Cup hero Ben Stokes announces retirement from ODI cricket! He will be playing his last match against 🇿🇦 tomorrow. 🙌#BenStokes #SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings pic.twitter.com/NpBtgCSENk
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) July 18, 2022