Stokes victim of ‘crazy’ schedule, says former captain Nasser Hussain

The number of games being crammed into the global cricket schedule is “madness” and more players could follow Ben Stokes in quitting the One-Day International (ODI) format, said former England captain Nasser Hussain.

Stokes, who helped England win their maiden 50-overs World Cup in 2019, announced his shock retirement from ODI cricket on Monday saying that playing all three formats of the game had become “unsustainable” for him.

Hussain wants the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) to look at the “absolutely crazy” calendar and make changes to ease the strain on multi-format players like Stokes.

“It is disappointing news to say the least but it is a reflection of where the cricketing schedule is at the moment,” Hussain told Sky Sports.

“It is madness for players.”

“If the ICC just keep putting on ICC events and individual boards just keep filling the gaps with as much cricket as possible, eventually these cricketers will just say ‘I’m done.’”

The ICC is set to unveil a new calendar later this month with an extended window for the Indian Premier League (IPL), while England and Australia are also likely to get dedicated slots for their domestic franchise-based leagues.

“Stokes is done with one format aged 31, which can’t be right, really,” Hussain said.

“The schedule needs looking at, it is a bit of a joke at the moment.

“It looks like 50-over cricket is the one everyone is looking at, because everyone loves Test match cricket and everyone loves T20 cricket."

England Test captain Stokes will play his 105th and final ODI against South Africa at his home ground in Durham later on Tuesday.