England’s cricket team leader, Ben Stokes, has expressed worries about the current international cricket schedule. He believes it needs to be improved and suggests that players should have a say in planning future tours. After the last Test match against West Indies at Edgbaston, England players will have a three-week break for The Hundred tournament, then they will play a three-match series against Sri Lanka. This break is the longest they will have for the rest of the year.
The series against Sri Lanka ends on September 10, and Australia’s limited-overs team starts an eight-match tour the next day at the Ageas Bowl. After that, England’s schedule is very busy, with the Australia series followed by a Test tour to Pakistan, a limited-overs series in the West Indies, and three Test matches in New Zealand to finish the year. This busy schedule is especially hard on players who play all three formats of the game, as they have little time to rest and recover between series.
When asked if the busy schedule might affect his goals for the Test team, Stokes said, “I don’t think so. The schedule really needs to be fixed. With all the franchise cricket happening, it’s hard to predict what international cricket will be like. It definitely needs attention because things are always changing. No one can honestly say they know what cricket will look like in just two years.”
Stokes suggested that getting feedback from players, including himself and Jos Buttler, could be helpful for the Future Tours Programme (FTP). “It might be useful to ask the players who are involved in the FTP for their thoughts, and I believe we could offer some valuable suggestions,” he mentioned. When asked if he had been asked for his opinion on the recent FTP schedule from 2023-27, Stokes replied, “Sort of, but not really. You can interpret that however you like.”
Stokes was cautious when asked about his own career in limited-overs cricket. After reversing his decision to retire from ODIs to participate in the 2023 World Cup, he chose not to play in the T20 World Cup to concentrate on Test matches. He did not comment on rumors that he has agreed to a deal worth £800,000 with MI Cape Town in the SA20, which conflicts with the India limited-overs series at the beginning of next year.