Former New Zealand captain and current England head coach Brendon McCullum gave an unexpected reaction to Ben Stokes’ sudden decision to retire from ODIs at the age of 31. Stokes, who played his last ODI against South Africa earlier this week at his home ground in Chester-le-Street, Durham said it was almost impossible for him to continue plying his trade in all three formats.
“Yeah of course I am,” McCullum told SENZ Breakfast when asked if he was happy with Stokes’ decision.
“There are not too many all-format players,” the former New Zealand captain said when asked if Stokes’ move could become a trend for other players around the world.
“He’s probably in a luxurious position that he’s able to do that, but also with the demands of the schedules and with his heightened schedule as Test captain, it would’ve become too much. He also has a young family and there’s a lot going on. I don’t know if it’s symbolic of where the game itself is at around the globe, but I see it as an absolute positive, to be honest.
“I’m looking forward to being able to spend even more time with ‘Stokesy’ trying to get this thing cracking. It came as a shock to many given his age – he is only 31 – but McCullum looked at Stokes one-day retirement differently,” McCullum added.
