He is out of this year’s IPL – unlikely to be involved again until 2024 at the earliest – and announced last week that he would not play in The Hundred this summer. His retirement announcement contained a swipe at the England and Wales Cricket Board and that will come as no surprise to those close to Stokes and involved with the team. He was angered by how the ECB agreed to restrictive Covid measures in Australia last winter, where he became the de facto representative of the players in discussions with the board, which became heated at times. Stokes has also not forgotten how he was treated by some at the ECB after his arrest for a brawl in Bristol in 2017, although he is on very good terms with Key and his team-mates. Is this really the end? Some insiders believe there is a chance Stokes could overturn that decision ahead of England’s World Cup defense in India in October 2023. The Ashes campaign will be over by then and Stokes will still be just 32. Fitness would count against him, but chances are he’ll be back in the side. He has averaged 47 in ODI cricket since the start of the summer of 2015 – remember he was left out of the squad for that year’s disastrous World Cup in Australia – and was capable of devastating batting as well as an astute reader of situations that led England to glory in the 2019 final. With the ball he had won the 10-over total only once in seven years, but was a useful option if others had been hit by the attack and there were few natural replacements as a bowler. Sam Curran would fit that bill, while his departure could also benefit the likes of Phil Salt – a young, tough player who looks ready to make the step up in the international game. For Buttler, it gives him a chance to grow as a captain without that huge figure in the dressing room potentially and inadvertently overshadowing him. Buttler must see this as an opportunity to shape the squad he wants and make his mark alongside new manager Matthew Mott. The decision proves that Test cricket is everything to Stokes and this should be seen as a boost for the format as well as England’s fortunes. He should be fresh for the Ashes next summer and this decision makes it more likely that he will play in the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia later this year. The burden of bowling only two to four overs in T20s, as well as future earnings when he decides to return to the IPL, convinced him that it was 50-over cricket that could be cut from his schedule. In his first press conference as England captain, Stokes hinted at his future, saying “there will be four or five other guys who will have to think about what they’re doing”. At the moment England officials are satisfied that no other players are considering following Stokes’ lead and leaving 50-over cricket, but the Future Tours Program for 2023-2027 has only just been signed. when the scale of the program sinks in, that could change.
