Ben Stokes to bat at number 4 for England in the T20 World Cup
England’s coach has confirmed that test captain Ben Stokes will bat at number four in the upcoming World Cup. This decision was influenced by white-ball skipper Jos Buttler, who believes Stokes’ batting potential is being wasted further down the order.
Jos Buttler, the white-ball captain, has lobbied hard to persuade veteran all-rounder Ben Stokes to bat at number four in the T20 World Cup. Jos believes that every player needs defined roles in order to perform their duties and contribute to the team as a whole, and that if an experienced batter like Ben Stokes could come in at four, it may benefit them.
England will set sail for Australia without Jason Roy, Johnny Bairstow, Jofra Archer, and the Curran brothers. They’ll enter the World T20 with a new look side, with skipper Buttler and Stokes providing the essential experience.
Stokes in T20’s
Ben Stokes hasn’t made any significant contributions for England in T20Is, failing to even top 50. If one could contextualize his Dissaray’s numbers, it is due to the number of times he was steered down the order to make room for other batters. Even in the IPL, he was primarily employed as a finisher, with the franchisees he was a part of wasting his batting prowess. Ben Stokes has two centuries in the IPL and made a name for himself in his debut season. One could never doubt his batsmanship as no one will overlook his ‘freak’ innings in the 2019 Ashes.
After his 2016 World Cup mishap, Ben stands to benefit from defined instructions and security.
England’s squad for T20 World Cup in Australia
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Alex Hales. Standby Players: Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Tymal Mills.
