England’s Ben Stokes has announced he will retire from One-Day International cricket after Tuesday’s match against South Africa on his Durham home ground.
The all-rounder, 31, said playing three international formats – T20, 50-over ODIs and Tests – was now “unsustainable”.
Stokes, who captain’s the England Test team, will take the field at Chester-le-Street against South Africa in the first of three ODIs.
Stokes, who has scored 2,919 runs and taken 74 wickets in the format, said in a social media post it had been an “incredibly tough decision to make”.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes announces retirement from ODI cricket
“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 percent of myself in this format anymore,” he said. “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 (captain) Jos (Buttler) and the rest of the team their all.”
Watch: When Ben Stokes lit up the 2019 ODI World Cup final to help England clinch the trophy
Rob Key, managing director of men’s cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, paid tribute to Stokes, saying: “Ben has had an incredible international career in ODI cricket, culminating in his match-winning performance at the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final”.
Here are some reactions to Stokes’ announcement:
❤️🏴 pic.twitter.com/xTS5oNfN2j
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 18, 2022
#CricketTwitter
— The Field (@thefield_in) July 18, 2022
A Ben Stokes special no England fan will ever forget 🌟🏆
📹: ICCpic.twitter.com/RkNXDyFLjs
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘽𝙚𝙣 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙨!" 🤩
— The Field (@thefield_in) July 18, 2022
📹: ICCpic.twitter.com/igFwXiWo7i
Virat Kohli’s message for Ben Stokes on Instagram:

How long before some of the Indian men's cricket stars say, 'three formats is unsustainable'?
— Snehal Pradhan (@SnehalPradhan) July 18, 2022
It's inevitable. The human body and mind can only take so much. #BenStokes
Ben Stokes. ODIs. It's been an honour. 🏆💗 pic.twitter.com/PxAekj9vE5
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) July 18, 2022
From featuring in an ICC Men's U19 Cricket World Cup in 2010 to becoming an ICC Men's @cricketworldcup champion in 2019 🏆
— ICC (@ICC) July 18, 2022
A special ODI player, and what a career!
Thank you, @benstokes38! pic.twitter.com/uIFjafwEAe
So in the space of a week we've seen SAfrica formally forfeit a World Cup qualifying series, Cummins rested (ankle and hip niggles) from two more such series and now Stokes quits ODIs altogether pic.twitter.com/zbErNW2vIN
— Daniel Brettig 🏏 (@danbrettig) July 18, 2022
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
3 - @benstokes38 is one of just three players to score 2,500+ runs & take 50+ wickets in men's ODIs for @englandcricket (2919 runs, 74 wickets); alongside @Colly622 (5092, 111) & @flintoff11 (3293, 168). Legends. pic.twitter.com/CUj7H4ITPP
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) July 18, 2022
Gutting we aren't getting any more of this in ODIs... pic.twitter.com/qouT5t3hNP
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) July 18, 2022
Happy Retirement #Benstokes pic.twitter.com/mAXNJlrrXc
— Carlos Braithwaite ➐ (@CarlosBenStokes) July 18, 2022
Stokes has made a selfless decision for the benefit of the England team. #BenStokes #ENGvsSA #eng
— Monty Panesar (@MontyPanesar) July 18, 2022
The retirement of Ben Stokes from ODI cricket is surprising and he will be sorely missed from this format. However, his decision to prioritise Tests is markedly different from most cricketers, who retire from the elite format for the financial riches of franchise cricket.
— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) July 18, 2022
Ben Stokes giving up ODIs (one of the three formats) will be the new normal I feel @benstokes38
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) July 18, 2022
Inputs from AFP