Too much cricket – Is the international game unsustainable?

Ben Stokes’ one-day international retirement has brought heightened scrutiny on a fixture programme which has been termed “unsustainable” by the England Test captain.

Here, the PA news agency assesses England’s workloads as Stokes prepares to bring the curtain down on an ODI career in which he memorably inspired his side to victory in the 2019 World Cup final.

Consider this: Joe Root made his international debut two years after Kane Williamson but has already played more Tests (121 to 88) and ODIs (156 to 151) than the New Zealand captain. Since the start of 2017, England have had 498 scheduled days of cricket, which puts them ahead of India in second place on 472. Australia are languishing more than 100 days behind England on 387. That is a seismic difference.

A knock-on consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a backlog of fixtures. A three-match ODI series in the Netherlands was originally pencilled in for 2020 but had to be shoehorned in between the second and third Tests against New Zealand last month. India also had to play their rescheduled Test this month to satisfy demand after last year baulking at playing the final match due to Covid concerns.

This month alone, England are in action on 17 days. That is without factoring in training or travel. White-ball coach Matthew Mott described Jos Buttler’s introduction to the captaincy as a “baptism of fire” amid a programme of 12 fixtures in 25 days this month against India and South Africa. From June 2 to July 3, their schedule reads four Tests, nine ODIs and six T20s. That is excessive.

The advent of Twenty20 and the format’s subsequent rise has lengthened bilateral series in recent times while the proliferation of global tournaments and franchise leagues is