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England Test captain Ben Stokes called for player input to be valued while preparing the international cricket schedule, amid concerns about the increased level of international and franchise cricket commitments that have made players lives' hectic.
Stokes was speaking to the media ahead of the third Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston. "It (hectic schedules) is something that does need to be addressed. Who knows what international cricket is going to look like, with all the franchise stuff that is going on as well," said Stokes, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "It does need to get looked at. The landscape is constantly changing. I do not think anyone can put their hand on their heart and say they know what cricket is going to look like in even two years' time." "I think some consultation might be quite nice, obviously to Jos (Buttler) and myself. The FTP could maybe see the people playing in it consulted, and I think we could have some good input in that," the England skipper concluded his point. Notably, England is having a very hectic schedule over next 11 months or so. After this series against West Indies gets over, Sri Lanka will tour UK for a three Test series from August 21. Just a day after the third Test's due finish, England will start a white-ball series against Australia at home from September 11, having three T20Is and five ODIs. From October 7 onwards, a three-Test series against Pakistan away from home will take place. Just three days after the conclusion of the tour to Asia, England will play a white-ball series in West Indies in October-November, with the series ending just few days before three-Test series against New Zealand from November 28 to December 14. The start of 2025 offers a little bit of relief, but England wil tour India for five T20Is and three ODIs from January 22 to February 12 to prepare for ICC Champions Trophy, which will also take place in February at Pakistan. After the CT 2025, from May to June, England will play four teams, including three at home, Zimbabwe (one Test in May at home), West Indies (three ODIs in June at home), India (five Tests at home in June-August) and Ireland (three ODIs in June, away) England will be keen to complete the whitewash against West Indies and improve their standing in the World Test Championship table.They moved off the bottom of the WTC standings and kept in touch with the competition. Following the victory, they catapulted past South Africa, Bangladesh and the West Indies into sixth place on the table. After the conclusion of the series, England will host Sri Lanka for three Tests on home soil at the end of next month. After that, the Three Lions will embark on tours of Pakistan in October and New Zealand in November and December. After 12 matches, England have 45 points and a percentage of 31.25. The Ben Stokes-led side has won five games, lost six and drawn one. The West Indies fell to ninth on the standings with a 22.22 percentage following the late fadeout against England at Trent Bridge and have seven Tests remaining this period against England (one), South Africa (two), Bangladesh (two) and Pakistan (two).England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)
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