Ben Stokes: Taking away County Championship fixtures is not the answer

As England Test captain and perhaps the most influential English cricketer around, his words carry plenty of weight. And in an interview with The Telegraph, Stokes doubled down on his position

Ben Stokes has reiterated his objection to any potential cut in the number of County Championship matches in the English summer.

Stokes caused a stir when he tweeted his support of a grassroots initiative designed to oppose any possible reduction in the red-ball domestic calendar as a result of the ECB's ongoing high-performance review.

As England Test captain and perhaps the most influential English cricketer around, his words carry plenty of weight. And in an interview with The Telegraph, Stokes doubled down on his position.

"What I want to see is more work done to allow all three formats to be sustainable to people who want to play all three formats," he said.

^{Ben Stokes has underlined his objection to a reduction in the number of County Championship matches [Getty Images]}

"What needs to be looked at there is the structure of not only the international calendar but also the county calendar in England. Personally my opinion is that taking away County Championship fixtures is not the answer."

Counties currently play 14 Championship matches each season, though proposals under consideration as part of the review include that number going down to 10 or 12.

Andrew Strauss's panel is currently in consultation with senior county officials, with a vote on the future structure of the domestic game due on September 20.

"You're never going to get the right answer to everybody. That's just life. But it will be nice to be maybe included a bit more as captains"

Some counties have already pledged to giving members their own vote prior to that ECB ballot, and Stokes emphasised the importance of listening to all perspectives in the game.

"Everyone is allowed an opinion - just got to be brave enough to voice it I guess," he said. "If someone doesn't like your opinion and says, 'stop doing it', I'm probably not the right person to come and tell that to. I'm not arrogant and stupid to think no one else is allowed an opinion."

Stokes retired from ODI cricket earlier this summer, using a moment of considerable significance to underline the workload currently expected of elite all-format players. 

^{Stokes wants to be more included in the ECB's high-performance review [Getty Images]}

He believes there needs to be a solution found that allows for cricketers who want to play for their countries in Test, 50-over and T20 arenas to be able to do so without risk of burnout. 

"It's not going to be an easy fix," he said. "You're never going to get the right answer to everybody. That's just life. But it will be nice to be maybe included a bit more as captains.

"Myself and Jos [Buttler] would love to be a bit more included in stuff like this to help come to a decision. But I'm not at all having a sly dig at anyone here - I'm just voicing an opinion that I feel like I'm entitled to have."

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