Former England captain Michael Atherton believes Ben Stokes' retirement from one-day cricket is a result of "how little thought the administrators have given to the way their greed is impacting upon the game and its players".
Stokes described the current schedule as "unsustainable" in a statement, with the all-rounder deciding it is impossible for him to give his all to England in all three formats. And Atherton agrees with Stokes' criticism of the schedule, describing it as "totally unrelenting and ridiculous".
In his latest column for the Times, Atherton wrote: "He is only 31 years of age, but being an all-rounder in modern cricket across three formats is the most punishing role of all, in a schedule that is totally unrelenting and ridiculous.
"Not even the thought of defending the World Cup in India in a year's time — possibly the most prestigious and commercially rewarding of all events — was enough to keep him going, which tells you all you need to know about how little thought the administrators have given to the way their greed is impacting upon the game and its players.
"By adding another format to an already unsustainable schedule, England's showed they are no better. Stokes has realised that he simply cannot do it all and therefore, by announcing his retirement from the 50-over format, he has decided to prioritise Test cricket and T20 cricket.
"Stokes has always insisted that he loves the five-day game most of all and, as captain, he is determined to lead a revival in that format. There is only so much energy to go around, and international cricket can be thankful the Test game can still retain the interest of a player of his status."
When asked on BBC Test Match Special if his retirement from ODI cricket should act as a wake-up call for cricket's administrators, Stokes said: "I guess so. We are not cars, you can't just fill us up and we'll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again.
"We had a Test series and then the one-day team had a series going on at the same time – that was a bit silly. I just feel like there is too much cricket rammed in for people to play all three formats now.
"It is a lot harder than it used to be, because it makes you feel tired and sore. I look back to when I used to do all three and it didn't feel like it was as jam-packed and all that."
