England coach hopeful of Stokes & Archer’s return for World Cup 2023
England red-ball skipper Ben Stokes retired from ODI cricket in July 2022 and confirmed that he will not participate in the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023. After the conclusion of Ashes 2023, he once again added saying that he will stay retired in order to stay fit for the Test series in India, which is slated to begin on January 25, 2024.
However, England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has expressed his desire to see Stokes making his return to the 50-overs format as he can be incredibly impactful.
“Jos will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. 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,” Mott was quoted as saying by ICC.
Matthew Mott banks on Archer’s skills at the World Cup 2023
Meanwhile, England’s team management is leaving no stone unturned for Jofra Archer to be available in the upcoming ODI World Cup. Mott agrees that the timeline is tight but they are nevertheless giving everything they could for him to recover soon.
“There is a high chance that we will take risk on a proven performer that has done it on the world stage. We are planning for him to be available. Obviously, 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,” Mott told Mail Sport.
“It would be a big ask for him (Archer) 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 49-year-old added.
