[Watch] Ben Stokes in tears as he leads England onto the field for the last time in ODIs
England all-rounder Ben Stokes led his team onto the ground as the hosts were asked to bowl first by South Africa in Durham on Tuesday. Stokes, perhaps fittingly, is playing his last ODI on his home ground and received thunderous applause from the crowd as he made his way into the ground.
Other England players let the 31-year-old have his moment and then after a few seconds swarmed around Stokes, congratulating him for what has been a fantastic ODI career. Ben Stokes was perhaps keeping it all together till the point captain Jos Buttler hugged him.
But that was the moment where he broke down into tears and thanked the crowd who gave him a standing ovation. Here's a video of the same:
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Sad that I am not going to be back with Ben Stokes: Mark Wood
England speedster Mark Wood is part of the commentary panel in the ongoing first ODI between England and South Africa. He revealed that he still has an issue with his elbow that he needs to sort out to be available for the T20 World Cup later this year.
The 32-year-old was in a race against time to get fit for the South Africa ODIs, but he is gutted that he won't be able to share the field with Stokes again in this format. He told Sky Sports ahead of the England vs South Africa game:
"My elbow is really sore now and I am struggling to fully straighten it again. I have to get that sorted now if I want to be fit for the T20 World Cup which is the goal. It can get lonely when you're training all on your own. But being around the lads in the dressing room this morning really pumped me up. You realize how badly you want to be back with the guys. Just sad that I am not going to be back with this guy (Stokes in ODIs)."
"It's just sad that I'm not going to be back with this guy, he's the man that I would love to be playing more with" 😟
Mark Wood confirms that he needs another operation on his elbow to make sure he is ready for the World Cup. https://t.co/34EhC90Fa2
Despite having played just 105 ODIs, Ben Stokes has probably done enough to be remembered as one of the best all-rounders this format has ever seen.