England Test captain Ben Stokes reversed his decision to retire from One-Day Internationals ahead of the Three Lions’ defence of their 50-over men’s World Cup title in India later this year. Stokes, who retired from ODIs last year citing workload management, played a crucial part in England’s first 50-over World Cup triumph, including a match-winning knock in the final against New Zealand, in 2019. With speculations growing regarding his ODI return, England confirmed that Stokes will take part at the marquee event in India.
Hours after being named in England’s preliminary 15-man World Cup squad, Stokes took to Twitter and reacted to his return to ODI cricket.
“LOL (Lauging Out Loud),” Stokes posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Lol
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) August 16, 2023
Stokes did not bowl a single ball during the last three Tests of the drawn Ashes series, which could be an indication that Stokes might feature as a specialist batter during the World Cup.
The 32-year-old will return for next month’s four-match ODI series against New Zealand. England have named the same team for the same.
Young batter Harry Brook and tearaway pace bowler Jofra Archer were the notable omissions.
England have also included uncapped Surrey fast bowler Gus Atkinson in their squad for the New Zealand ODI series.
The defending champions must name their final 15-strong World Cup squad, plus three travelling reserves by September 25.
England ODI squad to play New Zealand:
Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes
(With AFP Inputs)
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