AB de Villiers weighs in on schedule concerns after Ben Stokes slams "joke"

24 February 2023 , 11:43

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Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket last year due to the "unsustainable" schedule (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

When Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket last year at the age of just 31 while labelling the schedule a "joke", it sparked plenty of debate.

Stokes' retirement came shortly after England played an ODI series against the Netherlands while England were still in the middle of a Test series against New Zealand.

And almost seven months on from his retirement, England are faced with a similar situation as their Test tour of New Zealand is due to finish just 24 hours before an ODI series against Bangladesh begins.

As a result, a number of players hoping to be part of England's 50-over World Cup defence in India later this year will miss three of the last ten ODIs Jos Buttler's side are set to play before the tournament gets underway in October.

And South Africa legend AB de Villiers has now weighed in after being asked about Stokes' retirement from ODIs and his claim the schedule has made it "unsustainable" for cricketers to play all three formats.

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De Villiers, who played over 400 games for South Africa across red and white ball cricket, suggested the only way it can be sustainable is for cricket chiefs to communicate better with their players. something which became a recurring issue during his career.

South Africa legend AB de Villiers has given his thoughts on the schedule (2020 Cricket Australia)

"I don't want to be the guy to say it's right to give up a format or two, but I think it's pretty important now that various boards around the world have communications with players early on to understand where they fit in and what they want to achieve," he told Betway.

"Ultimately, it's so important to go and experience franchise cricket with world-class talent, like Dewald Brevis is doing in the SA20, so it does require a lot of planning. I think that's something that could have happened better during my career, because it was all so new.

"I think each year you need to reset, pinpoint your targets and map it out. Communication is the key to keeping everybody happy."

Matthew Cooper