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England's Test coach Brendon McCullum backed Ben Stokes' sudden decision to retire from ODIs and sees his decision as an "absolute positive".

When asked if he was happy with Stokes' decision, he said, "Yeah of course I am,"

He was asked if Stokes' move could become a trend for other players around the world.

"There are not too many all-format players. He's probably in a luxurious position that he's able to do that, but also with the demands of the schedules and with his heightened schedule as Test captain, it would've become too much. He also has a young family and there's a lot going on,”

"I don't know if it's symbolic of where the game itself is at around the globe, but I see it as an absolute positive to be honest. 

Stokes made a surprise announcement to retire from the 50-over format on Monday, stating that playing three formats has become "unsustainable" for him.

McCullum further said that he was happy that Stokes quit one of the white-ball formats to focus on the traditional format.

"I also think it's a real mark of respect of the man that he's sort of bucking the trend of the short version of the game and actually trying to focus on what he sees as a huge task trying to get Test cricket back to the levels, or even exceed the levels, that it's had in the past,” he added.