England's coach Matthew Mott is keen on including two of their shorter format stars in the squad for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.
England’s coach Matthew Mott is keen on including two of their shorter format stars in the squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.
Despite Ben Stokes’ retirement from One Day Internationals in July 2022, he had consistently reaffirmed his commitment to staying retired from the 50-over format in a bid to maintain his fitness for the Test series against India in early 2024, even after the Ashes.
Stokes encountered a knee injury while in New Zealand last February, which sidelined him for a significant portion of the Indian Premier League season (IPL 2023). While he was set to lead England in the Ashes, his participation was largely confined to batting due to the injury, bowling just 29 overs across five matches.
Notwithstanding, Stokes has consistently showcased his prowess as a specialized batter. England’s white-ball coach, Matthew Mott is inclined to consider his batting prowess as a basis for his potential inclusion in the World Cup squad.
“Jos will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he’s keen,” Matthew Mott said.
Another standout figure from the 2019 World Cup final match, who played a pivotal role in the crucial Super Over was Jofra Archer. However, Archer’s career trajectory has been marred by a series of injuries, following his notable successes in cricket’s pinnacle moments. Recent optimism surfaced for English fans when Sussex coach Paul Farbrace confidently stated that Archer was progressing well toward full fitness for the upcoming World Cup.
Matthew Mott unveiled that England is prepared to take a calculated risk on Archer’s fitness for the World Cup with a plan to carefully manage his workload throughout the tournament.
“There is a high chance that we will take risk on a proven performer [like Archer] that has done it on the world stage,” Mott said.
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