England’s stand-in captain Ben Stokes has on Wednesday (July 7) shared a message for his young team ahead of the three-match ODI series against Pakistan starting on Thursday, July 8 in Cardiff.
The star all-rounder was named England captain for the ODI series against Pakistan after the entire first-choice squad put in the self-isolation following the three cricketers and four other team members tested COVID-19 positive just 48 hours before the first ODI in Cardiff.
Stokes was originally left out of the England squad for the limited-overs series against Pakistan to focus on his recovery from a finger operation as he was planning to return for the India Tests in August, but a sudden COVID-19 outbreak in the national camp forced him to change his plans.
A hurriedly-assembled England squad has nine uncapped players and their preparations for the call-ups are far from ideal for the ODI series against Pakistan, as they have had just one training session ahead of the series-opening ODI on Thursday in Cardiff. They all returned COVID-19 negative on Wednesday.
Well, Stokes has asked his young brigade to grab this amazing unexpected opportunity with both hands to represent their country and play with “a smile on our face” in this “rare” situation.
Stokes said ahead of the first ODI, “The one thing that I told myself to make sure that I told the team, is that although this has been a very quick turnaround of events, in terms of having to pick a new squad, no matter what name is on the back of the England shirt we are walking out there as the No 1 team.”
He continued, “That's an exciting thing to say you are a part of, whether you are an experienced player, a young player, or someone who has come into the group for the first time. Situations like these are so rare. You've got an opportunity here to represent your country and let's all just do it with a big smile on our face and just enjoy it as much as we can as a group.”
On lack of experience, he said: “One of the reasons for County Cricket is to put your name in the hat for an England call-up -- although you don't normally go picking 16 new players in a space of a couple of days! The guys who have been picked have put their hand up in county cricket and deserve to be in this situation, albeit through extreme circumstances. But everyone warrants their place in the squad.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were constantly saying they would not hurry Stokes back to international duty, as he hasn’t still recovered 100% from the finger surgery, but the Coronavirus outbreak in England team forced him to return to national duty for the Pakistan ODIs.
Stokes further revealed, “It was the last call I was expecting, late in the evening. Spoons (head coach Chris Silverwood) straight up asked me the question 'Can you come and do it?' After the call happened my wife sent me a screenshot of an article saying 'England aren't going to rush Ben Stokes back'. It's one of these situations that's an example of 'if you don't laugh you'll cry'.”
He signed off by saying, “But it was like when I came back for Durham a bit earlier, my job needed me to do something, so I had to stand up and do that. It's the same with this, it's earlier than planned from a medical and fitness point of view but when a job comes and calls you, you need to stand up and make yourself available.”
(With PTI Inputs)
