Ben Stokes has sounded the loudest warning to cricket suits over their demands on players by insisting they are humans and not machines.
Stokes has been forced to retire from one day cricket due to the heavy demands on his body across three formats and the increasingly squeezed nature of the games. Both during the winter and this summer England have banged white ball and red ball games up against each other with an ODI against the Netherlands being played the day before a Test.
Stokes reckons it is utterly unsustainable for players to be able to play all three formats thanks to the schedule and he has warned his bosses at the ECB that they are the ones who need to do something about it. Asked whether this should be a wake up call for cricket’s administrators Stokes agreed: “I guess so.
“We are not cars, you can’t just fill us up and we’ll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again. We had a Test series and then the one-day team had a series going on at the same time – that was a bit silly.
“I just feel like there is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats now. It is a lot harder than it used to be, because it makes you feel tired and sore. I look back to when I used to do all three and it didn’t feel like it was as jam-packed and all that.
“The more cricket that is played, the better for the sport, but you want a product that is of the highest quality. You want the best players to be playing as much as you possibly can, all the time, and it isn’t just me or us.
“You see it all around the world now where teams are having to rest some players in a certain series so they feel like they are getting a break."
Stokes is hopeful that by making the decision he has now, he can prolong his Test and T20 career deep into his 30s just like James Anderson and Stuart Broad have managed to do. And he has ruled out a last minute return to the ODI ranks in time for the World Cup, believing that those who work towards it should be the ones given the chance to earn the trophy.
“I had to consider my longevity in the sport,” added the 31-year-old. “I want to be playing as long as I can, and now being the Test captain that is where everything is at for me at the moment.
“I want to be playing until I’m 35 or 36 at least and I spoke to Stuart Broad and asked when you stopped playing white-ball cricket is that a huge reason to why you’re still playing now and he said ‘undoubtedly yes’.
“Hopefully when I’m still playing at 36 I can look back at this moment and say it was a big reason behind why I’m still able to get out on the park and represent England in Test cricket.
“It wouldn’t be fair on anyone who gets that opportunity with me not playing this format now to all of a sudden be like ‘yeah, I’ll come back for the World Cup’. It’s not what it is about. It is somebody else’s turn now to go out and try and progress themselves as a player in this format.”
