It was a very big moment in the life and career of English all-rounder Ben Stokes today, as he announced his ODI retirement yesterday and confirmed that today’s 1st ODI between England and South Africa would be the last one of his career. Amidst a lot of controversy given the reason of workload for his decision to retire, Stokes walked out on the field for the last time in an ODI for England.
South Africa won the toss and batted first and put up a massive total of 333/5 thanks to a third ODI century from Rassie van der Dussen. And Stokes didn’t really have much of work to do in the bowling effort, getting 0/44 in his 5 overs and ending his last ODI on a very expensive note indeed. He wasn’t even involved in any catches or run outs in the innings.
Ben Stokes out for 5 in last ODI
When England began the chase, we thought he wouldn’t even get a chance with the bat because the openers in Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow put up a century stand. Finally, the first wicket went at 102/1 and then, the second wicket fell with the score at 125/2 when Bairstow was adjudged LBW. Finally, it was time for the Chester-le-Street crowd to welcome their World Cup winning hero, Stokesy!
He didn’t look too comfortable even though he got off the mark immediately. And we saw him try to smack a couple of reverse sweeps. Interestingly, he did that a lot against Yuzvendra Chahal in the recent series against India. It brought his downfall in one of the ODIs, so we didn’t expect to see him doing it again here in his final game.
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Aiden Markram bowls light off-spin and he had a heavier amount to bowl today after Andile Phehlukwayo walked off due to an injury from an on-field collision. And Markram decided to bowl a stump-to-stump line as Stokes was up to his usual antics. Right enough, one straightened and Stokes missed the reverse sweep.
The umpire was quick to raise the finger and adjudge Stokes LBW in his final outing in ODIs. The southpaw decided to stay out there for a while and spoke to his partner Joe Root regarding whether he should take the review or not. And eventually, he made the right decision not to review, walking off for the final time in this format of the game.
A standing ovation as Ben Stokes makes his way to the crease in his final ODI for England 👏#ENGvSA pic.twitter.com/Qzmqltld8l
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 19, 2022
He trudged away away scoring 5(11) and it was clearly a poor outing in his final game in the 50-over format. However, his home crowd at Durham gave him a standing ovation, the same way they did when he walked out to bat. He gave the country plenty of memories in this format and those contributions will never be forgotten.
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