Ben Stokes open to England white-ball return under McCullum’s all-format coaching
England Test captain Ben Stokes said he would be willing to return to the white-ball setup under new coach Brendon McCullum if he was asked but added that there had been no conversations about him coming back into the limited-overs squads.
McCullum’s appointment as head coach across all formats came after two years of being in-charge of the Test team while Matthew Mott overlooked the white-ball teams. Following Mott’s exit in July, McCullum was named as the all-format head coach. The Kiwi will take charge of the limited-overs sides when England tour India in January.
Stokes has been a key part of the Test squad since McCullum took charge in May 2022 but has played sparingly in England white-ball sides. He retired from ODIs before returning for last year’s ODI World Cup and last played a T20 in England’s victorious World Cup final in November 2022.
“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England and I’m very happy and content with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game …,” Stokes told Sky Sports on Tuesday.
“If I get the call 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 – it means that I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.
“Me and Baz (McCullum) have not spoken about anything like that whatsoever.”
Stokes has been sidelined since tearing his left hamstring while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred last month. The 33-year-old said his rehabilitation was going well and that he would undergo a scan on Wednesday.
“In terms of bowling, there’s a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing – you use everything,” he added. “I need to get that all right to make sure I don’t do any more damage to any other parts of my body.”
– With PTI inputs
