Former England captain Nasser Hussain has labelled Ben Stokes' decision to retire from ODI cricket "disappointing news" and took aim at the current schedule, calling it "madness for players".
Stokes will play his 105th and final ODI on Tuesday against South Africa and cited the "unsustainable" schedule as the reason behind his retirement from the format. "As hard as a decision this was to come to, it's not as hard as dealing with the fact I can't give my team-mates 100 per cent of myself in this format any more," he said in a statement.
"The England shirt deserves nothing less from anyone who wears it. Three formats are just unsustainable for me now.
"Not only do I feel that my body is letting me down because of the schedule and what is expected of us, but I also feel that I am taking the place of another player who can give Jos and the rest of the team their all."
England are midway through a run of 12 white-ball games in just 25 days and Hussain feels the current schedule is "a bit of a joke" and warned that more players could follow Stokes' lead.
"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.
"Half the reasons [for his retirement] will be physical, and half will be mental, and mental in Ben's case is the fact he can't do things at 70, 80%.
"He's not just going to be a bit-part player, he has to do it full on and he's not willing to do it unless he does it 100%.
"In a way, I respect him immensely for making that decision because that's how you want every England cricketer to turn up, giving it everything every single day.
"The issue is not with the ECB as far as Rob Key, the issue is not with Ben Stokes, the issue is with the schedule.
"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, and Ben Stokes is done with one format aged 31, which can't be right, really. The schedule needs looking at, it is a bit of a joke at the moment."
