England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Monday announced his retirement from the one-day international (ODI) format after Tuesday’s match against South Africa.
Stokes will call time on his career in this format at his home ground at the Seat Unique Riverside having played 104 ODI matches.
He will be remembered for his match-winning innings in the final of 2019 World Cup to bring home the title for England for the first time. The 31-year-old had scored an unbeaten 84 to send the match into Super Over which they won later.
Taking to Twitter, he shared a letter which read, “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.”
The letter read, “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 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,” it added.
He further wrote, “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,” the letter further mentioned.
