Ben Stokes also shared a message for new white-ball captain Jos Buttler.
England’s star all-rounder and Test captain, Ben Stokes' emotional speech to his teammates in the dressing room won the hearts of the fans after his final outing for the side in ODIs.
Stokes stunned the entire cricketing world by announcing his sudden retirement from ODI cricket on July 18. He played his last ODI for England in the first of the three-match series against South Africa on July 19 in Durham.
The England players shared their thoughts on Stokes and later, the all-rounder also addressed his teammates, with the ECB now giving a glimpse of those moments in the dressing room.
In a video shared by the ECB on Twitter, Ben Stokes can be seen saying: “I just want to say for the team going forward. You know, Jos as always mentioned is just keep pushing the boundaries of what we do in the cricket field. Whether it will be ball, bat, in the field.”
The star all-rounder continued, “Take yourselves to the extremes because that's when we are able to go out and do stuff like no one else can as a team. Not many teams still feel like, I personally was there. Feeling we're still in the game. Even with four overs to go. Not many teams can feel like that when there's seven or eight down because of what we've got in the dressing room.”
The 31-year-old also had a message for England’s newly-appointed white-ball captain Jos Buttler. He said, “Jos, never doubt yourself. Never doubt any decisions you make, as a leader and as a captain. You're an incredible human being. You're an incredible player. Whatever you do, you know for a fact that you are going to have all ten blokes out there in the field to follow you.”
Stokes signed off by saying, “You're just one of those blokes who ooze class. People want to do things because of the person you are, never mind the cricketer. I'm just hoping if you believe in everything that you do, you are going to have everyone behind you. It’s sad that I am not going to able to do this anymore in this format. I played a lot of cricket with you. I wish you all the best in your journey as captain.”
Watch the video here –