‘It was Ben’s call’: Jos Buttler on Stokes’ decision to unretire before the World Cup
There were speculations in the days gone by about Stokes’ availability for the World Cup in India after it was reported that England’s captain and the team management are in talks with the all-rounder about taking his retirement back for the mega event and he did so by making himself available for the upcoming ODI series versus New Zealand.
In today’s cricket updates, let’s take a look at Stokes’ U-turn decision as narrated by Jos Buttler.
Ben’s decision to come out of retirement is a huge shot in the arm for Butler’s men who have been struggling a bit in the ODI format. Since Morgan’s retirement from international cricket last year the team has lost a series against India at home followed by a drawn series against South Africa.
England’s away record hasn’t been impressive either as the team lost an ODI series against Australia just after the T20 World Cup win in Australia. They also lost an away series against South Africa as well at the end of last year only managing to win the last ODI series which the team played against Bangladesh in March this year.
The Impact
One of the major issues that England has faced in the last year or so is the lack of experience in the batting. Since the retirement of Morgan and Stokes from ODI’s the team has lacked the experience required to win matches against Strong teams like South Africa and Australia which was evident in the way they lost the series against these teams.
With the return of Ben Stokes, one thing is certain England’s batting will look much more stable and confident in the ODI series against New Zealand and in the World Cup.
Captain Reacts
Reacting to Ben Stokes’ decision to unretire England’s captain Jos Buttler said “Ben is very much his own man; he makes his own decisions. I’ve played with him for a very long time, I’m good friends with him. Me badgering him and saying ‘Come back, come back’ is not really the way things work with Ben.
He very much makes up his own mind and decides… We had some conversations around it and just left it in his court. I’m sure the lure of playing in a World Cup is quite big for someone as competitive and as driven as he is to play in an England shirt. I’m delighted he felt up to it and could come back.”
It will be interesting to see what Ben Stokes can bring to the table for England. And for more such interesting sports updates, keep visiting our website.
