Ahead of the third ODI of the ongoing series between England and Australia, England Test captain Ben Stokes assured that he was willing to return to England’s limited-overs sides – if new white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum asked him to.

Stokes and McCullum have forged a successful pair as captain and head coach in Test cricket. McCullum will now join England as their new white-ball coach in January 2025.

“If I get the call and [McCullum] says, ‘do you want to come and play?’ Then obviously, it’s definitely going to be a yes,” confirmed Stokes. “But I’m not going to be too disappointed if I don’t [get a call], because I can just sit back and watch everyone else go out and smack it.”

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Stokes: Very happy with what I've achieved in white-ball cricket

However, Stokes denied about having a conversation with McCullum on the same subject yet. At this point, he is focused on the Test series in Pakistan in October: “I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England, and I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game. I think he’s just letting me concentrate on what I need to concentrate on, especially around the Test team.”

Stokes feels that McCullum’s across-format appointment should benefit England: “It’s an amazing opportunity for the white-ball team to experience what Baz has brought to the Test team. He’s an incredible coach who speaks with utter commitment, and it’s nice to have all three teams now with the same messaging and the same philosophies towards playing cricket.”

Stokes played key roles in England’s two World Cup triumphs – in ODIs in 2019 and in T20Is in 2022, but subsequently moved away from limited-overs internationals. He returned just ahead of England’s dismal 2023 World Cup campaign, which remains his last List A outing. However, he did make brief appearances in this year’s IPL and The Hundred.

What's the status of Stokes' injury?

An injury had ruled Stokes out of the home Test series against Sri Lanka. Under new captain Ollie Pope, England won the first two Test matches but lost the third.

Stokes elaborated on the status of his injury: “I’ve got my six-and-a-half week scan tomorrow, so we’ll know more from that, but I’m feeling really good. It was a hamstring tear that just sneaked into my tendon, so that’s why it’s taken a week or two longer, but my rehab has gone really well, so hopefully tomorrow everything gets the all-clear, and we can start pushing it a bit more.”

He will, however, be cautious before attempting to bowl: “There’s a lot more than just my hamstrings that I need to get back firing again, in terms of bowling, because you use everything. So I need to get that all right to make sure that I don’t do any more damage to any other parts of my body.”

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