"Something had to give and it is a real shame it's the one-day format" - Nasser Hussain on Ben Stokes' unforeseen ODI retirement

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has expressed his surprise at Ben Stokes' unexpected retirement from ODI cricket.

The 31-year-old has bid adieu to the 50-over format and will play his final contest at his home ground against South Africa tomorrow (July 19).

The all-rounder admitted to finding it difficult to balance all three formats and franchise cricket and hence took the decision to relinquish his position in the playing XI.

Stokes has represented England in 104 ODIs, scoring 2919 runs at an average of 39.44 and claimed 74 wickets.

Claiming that it is a shame that Stokes had to resort to this decision due to workload, Nasser Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail:

"Something had to give and it is a real shame it's the one-day format because Stokes gave us that incredible day three years ago at Lord's that no England fan will ever forget."

Stokes famously helped England win their first-ever World Cup in 2019 at Lord's. The all-rounder was adjudged the Player of the Match in the final against New Zealand for his exploits, which consisted of an unbeaten 84-run knock in a high-pressure run chase.

Blaming the International Cricket Council's (ICC) scheduling behind Stokes' departure from the ODI circuit, Hussain added:

"It is just jam-packed. The International Cricket Council keep adding their own tournaments and each board still seem to want a future tours programme full with as much bi-lateral cricket as possible."

The ICC recently released their Future Tour Programme (FTP) for the 2023-2027 cycle. The schedule includes a separate window for franchise cricket tournaments along with the usual bilateral series, multi-nation tournaments and World Test Championship (WTC) cycles.

"I do think I might have tried to convince him to just have a break" - Nasser Hussain

Stokes will continue to play an active role in the other two formats after recently being appointed Test captain.

He is also expected to be part of the Indian Premier league (IPL) from the next edition onwards after opting to skip the mega auction earlier this year.

Claiming that he would have tried to talk Stokes out of the decision, Hussain added:

"I do think I might have tried to convince him to just have a break, miss some bilateral cricket and save him for World Cups or big tournaments. It could be argued that it would have been better for Ben to give up Twenty20 cricket and he may been torn but 50-over games are long days and take a lot out of you."

Opining that the flamboyant player has the caliber to make it to the England playing XI even as a pure batter, Hussain concluded:

"He could easily have played solely as a batter in 50-over cricket, including in next year's World Cup in India."

Stokes carved his legacy in ODI cricket with a memorable contribution to England's World Cup win. He will be hoping for a fitting farewell tomorrow at Durham against the Proteas.