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Ben Stokes (image source: Twitter)
In a massive piece of breaking news, the England Test captain and World Cup winner, Ben Stokes has announced his retirement from the ODI format. The star all-rounder will play his last ODI game against South Africa in the first match of the series on July 19th. The English southpaw said that the reason why he’s taking retirement from the ODI format is that three formats are ‘unsustainable’ for him now.
Ben Stokes was central to England’s first ever ODI World Cup in 2019 when he steered the English fate to a win in the final against New Zealand. He was awarded the Player of the Match for the eventful and slightly controversial final. Overall, the all-rounder has played 107 ODI matches scoring 2919 runs at an average of 39.45 with the highest score of 102. He has also taken 74 wickets in the 87 innings that he has bowled.
❤️🏴 pic.twitter.com/xTS5oNfN2j
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) July 18, 2022
For his maturity and cricketing capability, the 31-year-old was made the captain of the England Test team. With Brendon McCullum by his side, Stokes has brought about a massive change in the style of the English Test side.
Stokes announced his retirement through a Twitter post that 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.”
I will give everything I have to Test cricket, and no, with this decision, I feel I can also give my total commitment to the T20 format. I would like to wish Josh Buttler, Mathew Mott, the players and the support staff every success going forward, added the Test captain.
He ended with, “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. Thanks.”