17th August 2023, Mumbai: Star England all-rounder Ben Stokes had a funny response to reversing his ODI retirement, with the 2023 World Cup looming.
LOL
Stokes took to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle and typed ‘LOL’, resembling his teammate Moeen Ali’s response when the England Test captain asked him to play in the 2023 Ashes series.
ODI Career
The 32-year-old called time on his ODI career in July 2022, citing the ‘unsustainable schedule’ of international cricket. The seam-bowling all-rounder played his final 50-over game against South Africa at Chester-le-Street and managed only five runs before Aiden Markram dismissed him. Overall, he played only 105 ODIs before quitting ODI cricket.
However, the England Cricket Board (ECB) included him in the squad for the upcoming four-match ODI series against New Zealand, starting on September 8th in Cardiff. The Englishmen will feature in four T20Is preceding the 50-over games.
With Stokes playing a significant role in England’s 2019 World Cup victory, the think tank will hope the all-rounder’s comeback can help them to defend their crown.
Star England Cricketer
Star England cricketer Ben Stokes was one of the heroes in their World Cup victory in 2019, playing a knock for the ages in the final at Lord’s. Injuries caused him to take a forced retirement from ODIs as he took over England’s Test team captaincy and needed to shake-off some workload.
But due to the request of ODI captain Jos Buttler, Stokes has reversed his retirement decision much similar to what Moeen Ali did for Stokes ahead of the Ashes 2023. After getting selected for the England’s provisional squad for the ICC World Cup 2023, Stokes shares a tweet reading ‘Lol’ replicating Moeen’s reply when Stokes texted him to reverse his retirement decision.
England’s chief selector for the men’s team Luke Wright trusts that Ben Stokes’ inclusion will only boost their chances of defending the crown. Explaining the inclusions of Gus Atkinson, John Turner, and Josh Tongue, he said.
ASC Priya