‘I think it’s a noble play from him’- Brendon McCullum hails Ben Stokes decision to retire from ODI cricket
England Test Team head coach Brendon McCullum has said that he views Ben Stokes’ decision to retire from ODI’s as an ‘absolute positive’. In the long run, this decision will help England as Ben Stokes will be able to give his full commitment to Tests and T20Is.
Ben Stokes on Monday made a surprise announcement to retire from the 50-over format, saying playing three formats has become “unsustainable” for him. “Yeah of course I am,” McCullum told SENZ Breakfast when asked if he was happy with Stokes’ decision.
He’s probably in a luxurious position that he’s able to do that, but also with the demands of the schedules and with his heightened schedule as Test captain, it would’ve become too much. He also has a young family and there’s a lot going on.
“I don’t know if it’s symbolic of where the game itself is at around the globe, but I see it as an absolute positive to be honest. “I’m looking forward to being able to spend even more time with ‘Stokesy’ trying to get this thing cracking.”
Even though Ben Stokes retired from the ODI format at the age of 31. The England head coach, however, saw things in a different light.
“Obviously we would’ve loved to see Ben Stokes playing in three forms of the game, he’s an out and out superstar and we’ve seen what he’s been able to achieve, but sometimes things have to give way and I look at it as a positive that he’s going to have the time to really immerse himself in the Test side.”
Stokes’ ODI career will forever be remembered for his Player-of-the-Match performance in the World Cup final against New Zealand at the Lord’s three years ago. His unbeaten 84 helped to send the match into a Super Over as England claimed their first 50-over World Cup title in the most odd but thrilling circumstances.
McCullum said, “Stokes is the skipper of our Test side and the job that I’ve seen him do with this team in a very short period of time really excites me about what he can do with this side, particularly now that he’ll have more available time rather than jumping from series to series to series.”
“I guess England’s a slightly different set-up to most other world cricket teams because they play a lot of cricket, they’re a wanted commodity around the world and they’re able to generate such a fan following and also the financial returns that the game requires to support 16 Counties and the big organization that is English cricket.”
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