Ben Stokes says “it’s definitely going to be a yes” if Brendon McCullum asks him to come back to play for England’s rebooted white-ball teams, but insists that no such conversations have happened yet, as he focusses first on regaining fitness in time to lead next month’s Test tour to Pakistan.
Stokes, 33, famously played matchwinning innings in each of England’s World Cup final victories across formats, at Lord’s in 2019 and at Melbourne in 2022, but he has not featured in a white-ball international since the ODI team’s ignominious title defence in India in November last year. However, with the next major ICC event, the Champions Trophy, fast approaching in February, Luke Wright, England’s selector, recently admitted that both Stokes and Joe Root remained in consideration.
Stokes had previously retired from ODI cricket in 2022, citing the risk of burn-out in an increasingly crowded international schedule, while he withdrew his availability from the most recent T20 World Cup in June, in order to focus on regaining full fitness following an operation on his long-standing knee issue.
Now, however, with Stokes’ bond with McCullum well established by their captain-coach partnership in the Test team, he says he is open to a cross-format comeback, but only if it is in the best interests of the white-ball squad that has begun to pivot to a new generation, among them this month’s new cap Jacob Bethell, whom Stokes believes is going to be a “superstar”.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for the white-ball team to experience what Baz has brought to the Test team,” Stokes told Sky Sports during the third ODI at Chester-le-Street. “He’s an incredible coach who speaks with utter commitment, and it’s nice to have all three teams now with the same messaging and the same philosophies towards playing cricket.
“If I get the call and [Baz] says, ‘do you want to come and play?’ Then obviously, it’s definitely going to be a yes, but I’m not going to be too disappointed if I don’t, because I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.
“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, and I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game,” he added. “But to be honest, we’ve not even spoken about anything like that whatsoever. I think he’s just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the Test team.”
The next challenge for Stokes’ Test team is fast approaching next week, when they embark on another three-Test tour of Pakistan – a venue where they famously won 3-0 in December 2022, in one of the most notable triumphs of the Stokes-McCullum regime to date.
After some weeks of uncertainty, Multan has now been confirmed as the venue for the first Test, beginning October 7. And while Stokes expects to be fit enough to lead his team in that match, having missed the Sri Lanka series following a hamstring tear in August, he says he will be cautious about fulfilling his bowling duties after a lengthy period on the sidelines.
“I’ve got my six-and-a-half week scan tomorrow, so we’ll know more from that, but I’m feeling really good,” Stokes said. “It was a hamstring tear that just sneaked into my tendon, so that’s why it’s taken a week or two longer, but my rehab has gone really well, so hopefully tomorrow everything gets the all-clear, and we can start pushing it a bit more.
“There’s a lot more than just my hamstrings that I need to get back firing again, in terms of bowling, because you use everything,” he added. “So I need to get that all right to make sure that I don’t do any more damage to any other parts of my body.”
Although England’s experience from the 2022 tour will stand them in good stead on this visit, Stokes admits that there are plenty of unknowns about the conditions they will face in Pakistan, and not simply because it has taken so long for the venues to be confirmed.
“It’s probably not until we get out there that we’ll have a real understanding of it,” he said. “I know that Shan Masood [Pakistan’s captain] has been asking for quicker, more lively wickets for their fast bowlers. Obviously, last time we were there, they were slow, dry and spun a bit. So, we’ve got to go there with an open mind about what we’re going to get.”
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
