ENG vs SA 2022: Nasser Hussain, a former captain of England, has voiced his astonishment at the sudden withdrawal of Ben Stokes from one-day international cricket.
The 31-year-old batsman has decided to retire from the 50-over format and is playing his last game against South Africa at his home stadium (July 19).
The all-rounder acknowledged that he was having trouble juggling all three forms of cricket as well as franchise cricket, and as a result, he made the choice to step down from his place in the playing XI.
Stokes has competed for England in 104 one-day internationals (ODIs), during which he has amassed 2919 runs at an average of 39.44 and taken 74 wickets.
ENG vs SA 2022: What did Nasser Hussain say about Ben Stokes?
Nasser Hussain, writing in his blog for the Daily Mail, said that it is unfortunate that Stokes was forced to resort to this option owing to the amount of work that he was responsible for.
He said:Â “Something had to go, and it is a great tragedy that it is the one-day format because Stokes gave us that wonderful day three years ago at Lord’s that no England fan will ever forget.”
Stokes played a pivotal role in England’s historic victory at Lord’s in 2019 to claim their first World Cup title. The all-performance rounder’s in the championship match against New Zealand earned him the title of Player of the Match. His heroics included an undefeated 84-run knock amid a high-pressure run chase.
The scheduling decisions made by the International Cricket Council (ICC), according to Hussain, are to blame for Stokes’ exit from the one-day international circuit.
“It is really jam-packed. The International Cricket Council continues to establish their own competitions, and each board seems to seek a future trips schedule that includes as much potential bi-lateral cricket,” he added.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had just made public its Future Tour Programme (FTP) for the cycle spanning 2023-2027. In addition to the regular cycles for bilateral series, multi-nation tournaments, and the World Test Championship (WTC), the calendar allocates a unique window for franchise cricket competitions.
After just recently being given the job of a test captain, Stokes is expected to maintain his active participation in the other two forms of the game.
After passing up the opportunity to participate in the mega auction earlier this year, it is anticipated that he would take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning with the subsequent season.
In addition to his assertion that he would have made an effort to convince Stokes to change his mind, Hussain said that:
“I believe that I may have made an effort to persuade him to take a vacation, avoid participating in certain bilateral cricket matches and reserve himself for major events like the World Cup. It is possible to make the case that it would have been preferable for Ben to give up playing Twenty20 cricket; although he may have been conflicted about this decision, 50-over games are played over the course of many lengthy days and need a lot of energy.”
Hussain came to the following conclusion after reaching the opinion that the flashy player can make it to England playing XI even as a pure batter:
“He could have easily played entirely as a batter in 50-over cricket, even in the World Cup in India next year. He had every opportunity to do so.”
Stokes cemented his place as a legend in one-day international cricket by making a significant impact on England’s success in the World Cup. Tomorrow, at Durham, he will play his last match, and he will be hoping that it will be a memorable one against the Proteas.
