England is prepared to use Ben Stokes as a specialist batsman and gamble on fast bowler Jofra Archer’s fitness in defense of their 50-over World Cup title when the tournament begins in India on October 5.
England will face New Zealand in the tournament opener in Ahmedabad and the team management is willing to make a plea to all-rounder and Test captain Ben Stokes to take back his retirement from the ODIs to play in the World Cup. Stokes, 32, retired from the format last year to manage his workload.
England’s selectors will pick their provisional 18-strong squad for the tournament in India this Tuesday and national white-ball coach Matthew Mott said that two elements ahead of the meeting - a call from Jos Buttler to his fellow England captain Stokes and an updated medical report on another hero of 2019 in Archer - would be crucial.
Stokes’ ability to bowl has been limited owing to a knee injury, but his batting remains a game-changer.
‘Jos will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he’s keen. There has not been a clear direction on what he’s going to do yet, but we are still hopeful. I’ve always said his bowling would be a bonus, but just look at what he brings with the bat, even in the field.
Watching him throughout the whole Ashes series, he had such a great presence. He’s done it for years when it comes to performing in one-day cricket and so he’s an invaluable commodity,” England coach Matthew Mott told Daily Mail.
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On the other hand, Jofra Archer has not played a match since being diagnosed with another stress fracture of the elbow, post the IPL 2023. However, he has begun bowling in nets alongside his Sussex teammates this week.
Of Archer, Mott revealed: ‘There is a high chance that we will take a risk on a proven performer that has done it on the world stage. We are planning for him to be available. A lot of things have to go his way and it will be a tight timeline but with players like that you are going to give them every opportunity to prove their fitness, and so we will keep an open mind.’
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Archer recently picked his ODI best figures against South Africa in January this year and then broke the 90-mph speed barrier in Bangladesh. While Mott understands that playing Archer in every game wouldn’t be possible, his knows the pacer is a huge asset for England on Indian pitches.
‘It would be a big ask for him to play every game, so we would have to target specific ones, but we are big on ball speed for India, we feel like that’s a really important asset for us to have out there and it will be good to see Mark Wood, who had such an impact in the Ashes, do the same with the white ball.
The thing about pace like that is it’s not just the immediate impact of unsettling or making opponents feel uncomfortable, it’s the whole aura that it creates around the team. Look at Wood’s impact at the back end of the Ashes. Everyone else on that field fed off his energy and what he brought,” Mott added.
(Daily Mail inputs)
