LOL: Ben Stokes boost to England's campaign; does U-turn on ODI retirement for World Cup

ENGLAND HAVE RECEIVED a huge boost ahead of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 as Ben Stokes reversed his ODI retirement, and was named in the squad for the four-match ODI series against New Zealand.

England coach Matthew Mott had recently revealed that he was eager to lure the Test team skipper out of his retirement, and was willing to play him as just a pure batter in ODIs, an icc-cricket.com news reprot said.

Speaking on Stokes' return, England Men’s National Selector Luke Wright said: “The return of Ben Stokes only adds to that quality with his match-winning ability and leadership. I am certain that every fan will enjoy seeing him back in an England ODI shirt again."

Stokes tweeted three letters as a response to his comeback into ODIs. This has reference to the fact that all-rounder Moeen Ali had tweeted the same when Stokes, as England’s Test captain had asked him: ‘Ashes?’. 

Stokes originally announced his decision to retire from ODI cricket a little more than 12 months ago on the basis that it was unsustainable for him to play all three formats. Attempts had previously been made to try and coax Stokes out of retirement and when pressed on the matter at the completion of the recent Ashes series the England captain said going on holiday was his only immediate focus, writes Jonathan Healy in an article on icc-cricket.com.

But England have no Test matches scheduled until the new year and that must have helped sway Stokes into making a return for next month’s ODI series against New Zealand and then the World Cup. Such a decision would normally only raise a flicker of interest, but such is the magnitude of Stokes' pull in cricket circles these days, that it adds that extra bit of intrigue to what already shapes as the most evenly matched World Cup to date, the article said.

There's not much Stokes hasn't already achieved on the cricket field, with his 2019 World Cup trophy sitting pretty on his mantlepiece right next to the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup title he won in Australia last year.