England Cricket Team head coach –Trevor Bayliss, on Tuesday, said that Ben Stokes might not fit back in straight away into the side, as all players have done well in the absence of the all-rounder whoever they have roped in the Playing XI.
Stokes, who is out of England side since his Bristol incident in September last year, will return with the upcoming T20 tri-series, involving Australia and New Zealand, but his return date is postponed and yet to be confirmed as the court hearing is slated on February 13.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, Bayliss said, “It is a good problem and he might not fit back in straight away. I do know that everyone knows he is coming back in the team at some stage and that keeps everyone on their toes trying to score runs and put their name forward to make sure they are not the ones who get pushed aside when he comes back.”
He further added on the same, “We have had a very stable team over the last couple of years. We have had one or two different guys coming in and the good thing is that we have got competition for spots. It is not just the 11. It is 14, 15, 16 guys that can come into the team and play a part. That's very healthy for the team.”
England won 10 out of the 12 ODI series under the coaching of Bayliss, who want to shape up as one of the favorites in the mega ICC event because the World Cup 2018 is held in England.
He further said, “The way we have been playing one-day cricket over the last few years and the way we continue to play, and obviously, with the World Cup at home, we should be one of the favorites. Only time will tell how we handle that but, if we go into all of the series between now and that World Cup thinking we are favorites, then that will be good practice for us and we will see how the players react.”
While commenting on England’s limited overs’ skipper Eoin Morgan, Head Coach pointed out, “From a batting point of view, Morgs is one of those guys who goes through a bit of a spell like that and then out of the blue he comes in and makes a heap of runs. His role as captain, and the way this team is playing, he is at the forefront of that.
He is the one that leads that. He is a very important part of this team. The way he has led this team out here I thought was fantastic, especially that Sydney match when we were down a bowler. The way he handled the bowling group then was top class.”
Bayliss signed off while praising Morgan, “He always talks to the boys about backing themselves and their ability and the way they always play and he leads from the front. If he is going through a bit of a lean trot, which batters do, he still goes out and tries to play that same way. He is the one leading the pack. That is the good thing about this team. We have got seven batters that are able to make hundreds in one-day cricket. He is one of them.”
