Ben Stokes open to extending his white-ball career with England following McCullum appointment

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

The England cricket great said he would be open to playing again for the ODI and T20 teams following the decision to put Brendon McCullum in charge of the limited-overs set-up as well as the test side.

“If I get the call saying, ‘Do you want to come and play?’ — it’s definitely going to 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 finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in 2022, came out of ODI retirement to feature in last year’s dismal World Cup defense. After knee surgery over the winter, he opted out of the T20 World Cup in June — which saw England reach the semifinals — to concentrate on his fitness.

England has launched a reboot of its white-ball teams to bring through the country’s next generation and Stokes said he would be happy to watch the youngsters take center stage if that’s what McCullum preferred.

“This white-ball team has gone in a new direction,” Stokes said. “We’ve seen some unbelievable talent come through — just to point out one, Jacob Bethell, who I think is going to be a superstar.

“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, I’m very happy and content with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game. If I am part of the white-ball teams’ plans going forward in any way, shape or form then great … But I’m not going to be too disappointed if I don’t because it means someone’s come in and doing really well. I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.”

Stokes has struck up a strong relationship with McCullum in the test set-up but said he hasn’t yet spoken to the New Zealander about extending his limited-overs career. The focus instead has been getting fit for the upcoming test tour of Pakistan.

“He’s just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the test team,” Stokes said, “and when that time or conversation comes then we’ll see.

“It’s nice,” he added, “to have all three teams now with the same messages and the same philosophies towards playing cricket, even though they’re in different forms.”

___

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket