Ben Stokes, the captain of the England Test team, has encouraged cricket officials to not treat players like "cars" by jam-packing the calendar with numerous games, calling for a sustainable schedule of matches. Stokes will play his final ODI in international cricket on Tuesday.
Stokes abruptly announced his retirement from ODI cricket on Monday, citing his inability to give his all effort to the squad in the 50-over tournament due to the demands of playing all three game formats.
Notably, England has been playing nonstop cricket for the past few months, with as many as 17 cricket days in July alone. Next month, England will play South Africa in a three-match Test series.
The all-rounder was more forceful in his remarks regarding an unsustainable schedule and felt that if nothing changes, the on-field product will suffer while speaking before of the first One-Day International between South Africa and England at Chester-le-Street the following day.
"We're not vehicles. You can't just fill us up so we can go out and be ready for more gasoline. It was a little odd that the one-day team had a series going on while we had a Test series on "The BBC's Test Match Special quoted Stokes.
"I just think that people are playing all three formats of cricket now because there is simply too much of it." It is far more difficult than it ever was. Looking back, it didn't seem as crammed and all that when I used to do all three.
Of course you want to play as much cricket as you can, but if it is making you feel exhausted, sore, and you have to think about what you're doing in the here and now five or six months from now, it probably isn't the ideal idea.
The sport of cricket will benefit from more games being played, but you want the best possible product. It's not just me or us; you want the finest players to play as frequently as you can, all the time. Now when teams are required to rest some players in a particular series so they feel like they are getting a break, you see it everywhere," he continued.
The 31-year-old revealed he decided to retire from the 50-over format after the first match against the Rohit Sharma-led team. He only managed to score 48 runs and bowl three overs in the ODI series against India, which England lost 1-2.
"I got slapped in the face with it after that one-day game. I told Jos [Buttler] after the game that I would have bowled more for him if the game had been in a different position. He told me I had a lot of cricket coming up and that I owed the team nothing during our five minutes of conversation. That made me feel good.
"I told him I almost felt a little useless that I couldn't do it when I walked away and had five minutes to myself. Knowing I have to take care of myself while the captain, the medical staff, and the coach are all attempting to do so is not a pleasant sensation. You can't be doing that because it's international cricket."
The England Test captain also cited Stuart Broad (36) and James Anderson (39), two cricketers who have been able to play in the red-ball format for the entirety of their professional careers. He also disclosed a chat he had with Broad, in which the latter mentioned that the reason for his longevity was the small number of games he played.
"I questioned Stuart about whether he believed that not playing white-ball cricket contributed to the 160 Tests he has played as of late. Without a doubt, he replied "yes." For England, I hope to play 140–150 Tests.
"Giving up one of the forms has happened far sooner than I had hoped, at the age of 31. T20 bowl, sporadically 2-3 overs. I have given longevity some thought. Hopefully, I can look back on this decision and say I'm extremely happy with it when I'm 35 or 36 and still playing Test cricket "said Stokes.