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Ben Stokes ready to take new turn in his white-ball career

Posted on by angelo
Ben Stokes ready to take new turn in his white-ball career

CHESTER-LE-STREET, England (AP) — Ben Stokes’ white-ball career may not be over yet.

The England cricket great has said he would be ready to play for both ODI and T20 teams again after the decision to put Brendon McCullum in charge of the limited overs team as well as the Test team.

“If I get a call saying, ‘Do you want to come and play?’ it will definitely be a ‘yes’,” Stokes, England’s Test captain, said in an interview with British broadcaster Sky Sports.

Stokes, who played match-winning innings for England in the 2019 50-overs World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup finals, came out of ODI retirement to take part in last year’s dismal World Cup defence. After knee surgery over the winter, he opted out of the T20 World Cup in June – which saw England reach the semi-finals – to focus on his fitness.

England have launched a reboot of their white-ball teams to bring out the country’s next generation and Stokes said he would be happy to see the youngsters take centre stage if that is what McCullum preferred.

“This white-ball team has taken a new direction,” Stokes said. “We’ve seen some incredible talent emerge, just one of them is Jacob Bethell, who I think is going to be a superstar.

“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England and I’m very happy and satisfied with what I’ve achieved in the game. If I’m in the plans of the white-ball teams for the future, in some way, then great… But I won’t be too disappointed if I’m not because it means someone has come in and played really well. I can just sit back and watch everyone else play and hit hard.”

Stokes has built a strong relationship with McCullum during the Tests but said he had not yet spoken to the New Zealander about extending his limited-overs career. The focus was instead on preparing for the upcoming Test tour of Pakistan.

“He just lets me focus on what I need to focus on, particularly around the Test team,” Stokes said, “and when that time or that conversation comes, we’ll see.

“It’s good,” he added, “to now have the three teams with the same messages and the same cricketing philosophies, even if they come in different forms.”