England’s Test skipper Ben Stokes recently expressed his eagerness to return to white-ball cricket under new coach Brendon McCullum. The former New Zealander is currently preparing to lead England’s limited-overs teams, after his successful partnership with Stokes in the longest format of the game.
Ben Stokes, who notably announced his retirement from ODI cricket in 2022 due to burnout, appears to be willing to change his mind at this time. Speaking at the third ODI at Chester-le-Street, Stokes discussed his relationship with the Kiwi and his experience playing white-ball under McCullum.
“If [Baz] asks, ‘Do you want to come and play?’ when I answer the phone, Then, of course, the answer will be yes, but if not, I won’t be too upset because I can simply watch while everyone else goes out and gets hit on. The white-ball team has a fantastic opportunity to witness what Baz has done for the Test team. It’s good that all three sides now have the same message and approach to playing cricket, as he is an amazing coach who speaks with complete dedication, Stokes said to Sky Sports.
I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved in that format: Ben Stokes
Joe Root and Stokes are both being considered for the white-ball squads, as England’s selector Luke Wright suggested at recently, with the Champions Trophy 2025 coming up in February. Stokes is an invaluable asset to any squad because of his remarkable limited-overs cricket record, which includes two World Cup final match-winning efforts.
“I’ve participated in a lot of white-ball cricket for England, and I’m proud of my accomplishments there. However, to be completely honest, we haven’t even discussed anything like similar. He continued, “I believe he’s just letting me focus on what I need to focus on, especially with the Test team.
Stokes is open to making a return, but he is still focused on the success of the Test team. Praising the development of new players in the white-ball setup, he singled out Jacob Bethell as a potential superstar.
But Stokes’ primary priority right now is getting fully healthy for the impending Test series in Pakistan. Stokes is hopeful that he will make a full recovery despite missing the Sri Lanka series because of a hamstring issue.
“We’ll find out more tomorrow when I have my six-and-a-half-week scan, but I feel great right now. The southpaw continued, “It’s taken a week or two longer because of a hamstring tear that just snuck into my tendon. However, my rehab has gone really well, so hopefully tomorrow everything gets cleared up and we can start pushing it a bit more.”
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The first Test of England’s tour of Pakistan is scheduled to start at Multan on October 7. The team will have to contend with the pitch’s characteristics as well as the possibility of a faster-paced strategy from the home team.
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