England hoping to ‘unretire’ Ben Stokes in time for 50-over World Cup

England is hoping Ben Stokes might reconsider his retirement from one-day internationals and help the team defend its 50-over World Cup title next year.

The talismanic all-rounder, who batted England to victory in the T20 World Cup final against Pakistan on Sunday, retired from one-day cricket in July, citing the “unsustainable” rigour of playing all formats.

England coach Matthew Mott said Test captain Stokes would be welcomed back to the ODI squad with open arms.

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“When he spoke to me about his ODI retirement one of the first things I said was that I’d back any decision he made, but I said to him he didn’t necessarily have to retire, he could just not play 50-overs for a while,” Mott told British media.

“And I said: ‘You could always unretire.’

“That’s his decision. It’s going to be a World Cup year and we don’t play much T20 cricket for a while, but it will be up to him. The more we can get him is great.”

Stokes was also the hero of England’s maiden 50-over World Cup triumph in 2019, when he hit an unbeaten 84 in the tense final win over New Zealand.

England defend its 50-over title in India in October/November next year.

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