Packed schedule harming quality of international cricket, says Ben Stokes

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today show, Stokes cited England's recent ODI series against Australia - "a series which meant nothing" - as a prime example of the problem with cricket's schedule

Cricket's increasingly congested schedule is harming the quality of the international game, believes England Test skipper Ben Stokes.

Stokes made the decision to step away from ODI cricket earlier this year, labelling the current calendar "unsustainable" in his retirement statement.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's Today show alongside Ian Botham, Stokes once again gave air time to the topic of scheduling, citing England's ODI series against Australia in November, which came hot on the heels of the T20 World Cup, a prime example of the nonsensical scheduling.

"It really has an impact on the multi-format players," he said. "Scheduling doesn't get enough attention.

"A great example is England's one-day series against Australia after the T20 World Cup. That was shoving three games in there. It made sense to someone to schedule a series which meant nothing.

^{Stokes cited England's ODI series against Australia in November as an example of cricket's scheduling problem [Darrian Traynor/Getty Images]}

"Some people say, 'You're playing for England, that should be enough', but there is a lot more to factor in. You want international cricket to be the highest standard, but we have seen a lot of different squads being picked and players rested, and that's not the way international cricket should go."

Botham echoed Stokes' sentiments, adding: "The emphasis is too much towards white ball. In England, we currently have a few first-class games in early-April and it disappears until end of season. It should be balanced better. You have to make room for it all.

"The idea of franchises is a solid, good idea. I just hope we can maintain a balance. If we lose Test cricket, we lose cricket as we know it."

Stokes also addressed his decision to take a five-month break from cricket in 2021 in order to focus on his mental health.

"It's perceived that men shouldn't be seen to show weakness but I have never had an issue with expressing my feelings and opening up about it. I can’t tell you how much pride I had in myself for doing that after the messages I got from people I had never met," he said.

"I was really blown away by the effect that section of the documentary had on their lives, it pushed them to go and get help. Some of the messages were very emotional to read."