Ben Stokes would definitely say yes to an England white-ball return
England’s Test captain is working his way back from injury.
Ben Stokes has left the door ajar for an England white-ball return but he revealed discussions with Brendon McCullum are yet to take place.
England’s Test captain ended his ODI retirement to feature in last year’s doomed World Cup defence but after knee surgery over the winter, he opted out of the T20 equivalent to concentrate on his fitness.
Despite another injury setback over the summer, Stokes is open to resuming a celebrated limited-overs career – he played match-winning innings in the finals of the 2019 50-over and 2022 T20 World Cups.
However, with England looking to the future against Australia after surrendering both global titles, the 33-year-old Stokes would be just as happy to watch the next generation take centre stage.
Stokes told Sky Sports: “This white-ball team has gone in a new direction. We’ve seen some unbelievable talent come through, just to point out one – Jacob Bethell, who I think is going to be a superstar.
“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, I’m very happy and content with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game.
“If I am part of the white-ball teams’ plans going forward in any way, shape or form then great. If I get the call, saying ‘do you want to come and play?’ It’s definitely going to be a ‘yes’.
“But I’m not going to be too disappointed if I don’t because it means someone’s come in and doing really well. I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.”
Stokes, who has featured in 114 ODIs and 43 T20s, and McCullum have impressed as England Test captain and head coach respectively and the New Zealander will take the white-ball reins in the new year.
While Stokes voiced his support at the appointment, he has not had any conversations with McCullum about being involved as he focuses on being fit for England’s upcoming Test tour of Pakistan.
Stokes said: “He’s just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the Test team, and when that time or conversation comes then we’ll see.
“He asked me about (unifying the England head coach role). I had to keep my mouth shut for a while because I knew a long time before it was going to be announced.
“I want all the teams to be doing well. If there was any selfishness about me, I would have said ‘nah, you need to be with us, there’s going to be too much time away’ but it’s an amazing opportunity.
“It’s nice to have all three teams now with the same messages and the same philosophies towards playing cricket, even though they’re in different forms.”
Stokes missed England’s 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka recently, with his deputy Ollie Pope standing in as Test captain, after suffering a hamstring tear when playing for Northern Superchargers on August 11.
He is set to undergo a scan on Wednesday to assess his recovery ahead of England flying out to Pakistan next week for a three-match Test tour that gets under way in Multan on October 7.
While he is upbeat about his prognosis, saying he feels “really, really good”, Stokes was coy when asked whether he would be able to bowl and be a fully-fledged all-rounder for the series opener.
He added: “I think that’s you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously I’ve been six and a half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym. But rehab has gone really well.
“There’s a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling, because you use everything. I need to get that all right to make sure that I don’t do any damage to other parts of my body.”
