Ben Stokes slams tight scheduling via cryptic tweet post England's loss to South Africa in the first ODI

England's Test captain and all-rounder Ben Stokes believes playing too many games within a short span of time has played a huge role in their recent decline in form. The visitors lost the first ODI of their three-match series against South Africa by 27 runs on Friday, with many questioning their inconsistent performances of late.

A certain news publication shared a tweet showing England's dip in form in one-day cricket over the past few games and left a question for fans, asking them to give their opinion on the form slump.

Ben Stokes retweeted the tweet and this is what he quoted it with:

"Begins with S ends with E and has chedul in there as well"

Ben Stokes plays just two formats for England at present

This was England's fourth ODI loss in a row after they were thumped 3-0 by the Aussies just after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup. The tight scheduling was probably one of the main reasons why Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket in the first place.

With so much cricket packed in a short span of time, there's a real debate on whether there needs to be a separate team for each format for every nation.

As far as the first ODI between England and the Proteas is concerned, the hosts managed to post a competitive total of 298/7, thanks to a fine century from Rassie van der Dussen. Jason Roy was at his vintage best in the chase. With England at 146/0, it seemed like the visitors would run away with the game.

However, that wasn't to be as the Proteas pacers Sisanda Magala and Anrich Nortje continued to chip away with wickets at regular intervals. It ultimately proved to be a bridge too far for the visitors.

South Africa have a real chance of confirming their qualification for this year's World Cup if they manage to win the series 3-0.