TOPSHOT – England players celebrate winning the ICC men’s Twenty20 World Cup 2022 Final between … [+]
The T20 Cricket World Cup will be a Ben Stokes-free zone. The Durham player has taken himself out of contention to focus on a full playing recovery after surgery on his long-standing knee injury in November. While the procedure allowed him to play five Tests in India, the 32-year-old was only able to bowl five overs on the subcontinent. His batting also faded as the series fell away with four defeats after a promising opening. “Opting out of the IPL and the World Cup will hopefully be a sacrifice that allows me to be the all-rounder I want to be for the foreseeable future,” England’s Test captain remarked.
This will be a big blow to England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott, already under pressure after the team’s abysmal ODI World Cup failure saw them crash out in the group stage with only three wins out of nine. On the other hand, it is about time England’s chances and narrative didn’t revolve around how hobbled, restricted or fully fit one of their greatest players is. The scepter of Stokes and what he can bring to the table has an importance that has become a crutch for the team.
When former Australian skipper Tim Paine criticized Stokes for picking and choosing when he wanted to come back, it didn’t get much traction. The wicketkeeper’s cheap shot felt like a piece of petty banter that could be laughed off. “It was a bit of, ‘Me, me, me’, there isn’t it? It was, ‘I’ll pick and I’ll choose where I want to play and when I want to play’, and, ‘I’ll play in the big tournaments’,” said Paine at the time. Now those players who have been removed for the red carpet that rolls out for a half-fit Stokes have the opportunity to hit the floor without the presence of the big Daddy of the side.
Mott will stand or fall by the results and his handling of the less starry players that could make or break the campaign in the States and the Caribbean. He needs to start getting some performances out of those that burnt under the furnace of heat and dust in India. Liam Livingstone is one that needs to fire before being given the Lord Sugar treatment.
Jos Buttler is the captain without the colossus. England’s T20 squad have already toured the Caribbean at the end of 2023 with mixed results, losing 3-2 to the West Indies but giving opener Phil Salt a chance to shine in the absence of others. Salt hit two devastating centuries that must have assured him of a top spot already. It could also be an opportunity for Harry Brook to move on from the personal issues that have kept him out of plain sight. Sam Curran’s star has fallen and the all-rounder needs to rediscover his footing at the IPL.
Jofra Archer is being readied yet again. He is not expected to play Test cricket in 2024, but the comeback in the shorter format would give Buttler an X factor that this team desperately needs. There’s always the fear that the constant comebacks – or touted comebacks – fizzle out before the real business end of the deal.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 13: Jos Buttler of England and Matthew Mott head coach of England … [+]
After England won the last edition in Australia at the end of 2022, Buttler’s white-ball team has been hammered 3-0 by Bangladesh and drawn 2-2 with New Zealand before the tight series in Barbados, Grenada and Trinidad. There’s certainly some level of trepidation about how the side will fare on a world stage without the man that strikes fear into most opponents.
Stokes memorably came back into the squad for the 2022 victory after 18 months out of the team. Despite some unconvincing batting performances early on, he came up with a match-winning innings in the final against Pakistan. It wasn’t entirely convincing but he was the man for the huge occasion yet again. Former Director of Cricket Andrew Strauss has claimed that Twenty20 is the one format where he will be least missed.
England will approach their first game against Scotland on June 4 with the knowledge that there is a need for new thread, a new narrative in the team. The limelight is there for a reason. England’s defense needs a few actors to step up to the stage.
