Ben Stokes has confirmed that he would return to England’s white-ball side if Brendon McCullum asked him to.
Stokes told Telegraph Sport last month that it would be “hard to turn down” the chance to return to the white-ball teams. Speaking at his home ground Durham before England’s one-day international against Australia, Stokes reiterated his willingness to return to the limited-overs teams if asked.
“It’s definitely going to be a yes,” Stokes said, when asked what he would do if McCullum – who takes over as white-ball head coach in January – attempted to lure him back to the white-ball international game. The Champions Trophy, the ODI tournament featuring the eight leading countries in the world, is played in February.
“If I get the call and [McCullum] says, ‘do you want to come and play?’ Then obviously, it’s definitely going to be a yes,” Stokes said. “But I’m not going to be too disappointed if I don’t, because I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.”
‘It’s nice to have three teams with the same messaging and philosophies’
Stokes denied that he has had any conversations with McCullum about a white-ball return, with his current focus on preparing for the Test series in Pakistan which begins on October 7.
“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, and I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game,” Stokes said. “I think he’s just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the Test team.”
Stokes said that England would benefit from McCullum becoming all-format coach. “It’s an amazing opportunity for the white-ball team to experience what Baz has brought to the Test team,” Stokes said. “He’s an incredible coach who speaks with utter commitment, and it’s nice to have all three teams now with the same messaging and the same philosophies towards playing cricket.”
As he returns from the hamstring tear which led him to miss the Test series against Sri Lanka, Stokes admitted that he would be cautious about his bowling workload in Pakistan.
“I’ve got my six-and-a-half week scan tomorrow, so we’ll know more from that, but I’m feeling really good,” Stokes said. “It was a hamstring tear that just sneaked into my tendon, so that’s why it’s taken a week or two longer, but my rehab has gone really well, so hopefully tomorrow everything gets the all-clear, and we can start pushing it a bit more.
“There’s a lot more than just my hamstrings that I need to get back firing again, in terms of bowling, because you use everything. So I need to get that all right to make sure that I don’t do any more damage to any other parts of my body.”
