In ODI uniforms for England, Ben Stokes is back. Stokes has been selected for England’s team for their forthcoming ODI series against New Zealand in preparation for the 2019 50-over World Cup in India in October.
Stokes, the Player of the Match in the 2019 World Cup final, announced his retirement from the ODI format in July of last year, shortly after taking over as the Test captain. He cited the fragility of his body and the demanding schedule as reasons why playing all three forms had become “unsustainable” for him. Following the England team management’s request to have Stokes return for the defense of the World Cup championship, Stokes decided to postpone his retirement.
In Test cricket, Stokes will continue to captain England. However, there is a chance for him to return to the 50-over format because England doesn’t have any Test cricket scheduled until January 2024. However, he was not chosen for the T20I series against New Zealand. Although he hasn’t given up playing T20 Internationals, his outings for England in the shortest format have been, at best, irregular; his most recent being in November of last year.
The two white-ball teams for England’s four-game ODI and T20I series against New Zealand have been announced. Gus Atkinson, a fast from Surrey who has never played internationally, has been selected for both squads and received his first call-up. John Turner receives his first call-up as well, however, he was just chosen for the T20Is. Josh Tongue, who just made his breakthrough on the international stage in the Ashes series, will also play in the T20I format.
Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid
Jos Buttler will captain the England T20I team. Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, John Turner, and Luke Wood are some of the other names mentioned.
In addition to his 14 first-class games, Atkinson has only appeared in two domestic 50-over games. But throughout this current season of The Hundred, he has traveled at a pace of close to 90 mph on average and has even topped out at 95 mph.
Jofra Archer has not been chosen for the New Zealand series and will not be ready to begin the title defense in time, despite England’s hopes that he would be able to rejoin the ODI squad in time for the World Cup. It was confirmed that he would just serve as a temporary reserve in India.
“The return of Ben Stokes, with his ability to win matches and leadership, only strengthens that attribute. Every fan will love seeing him once more don the England ODI jersey, I’m sure of it,” stated Luke Wright, England Men’s National Selector.
“We’re also thrilled to offer Gus Atkinson and John Turner their maiden international calls, while Josh Tongue has earned a spot in the T20 team after shining during the Ashes.
“Any series against New Zealand is fiercely contested and will give us the perfect chance to gauge how well we perform against one of the top teams in the world.”
The first ODI in the series will take place on September 8 at Lord’s, The Aeges Bowl, Sophia Gardens, and Oval.
