Ben Stokes blames engine trouble but the game must balance books

England’s 62-run defeat by South Africa in sweltering Chester-le-Street, following their 2-1 series defeat by India in both white-ball formats, suggests the new appointments at captain and coach are not reaping the same reward as those changes have brought to the Test team.

It is early days for Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott, the white-ball incumbents. So far, what with injuries and the rest and rotation of some players, they have yet to field their strongest side in the seven games played to date – a predicament not made easier, at least for the 50-over side, by the sudden retirement from that format of Ben Stokes. He will continue to play Test and T20 cricket for England.

Stokes, England’s finest all-rounder since Ian Botham, was central to England winning the 2019 World Cup, when he was player of the match at Lord’s. But since then, he has suffered injury and personal grief with the death of his father, and both have taken their toll on performance. This is a man who wants to play no-compromise cricket and his body, his left knee in particular, has begun to compromise that.

A chronic injury will sap a player and can spell decline. Just ask Michael Vaughan and Darren Gough, who were never the same after suffering knee problems. By quitting 50-over cricket, arguably the most expendable format in modern cricketers’ minds, Stokes, at the age of 31, is hoping he can maintain the full-throttle cricket that has become his and now England’s hallmark, since his accession to the Test captaincy in May.

That is the hope but watching him bowl in his farewell match against South Africa on his home pitch, where his five overs went for 44 runs (the most expensive of England’s bowlers), I fear that unless medics can find a robust