When England arrive in Pakistan for a seven-match T20I series ahead of the World Cup, it will be a year and two months since Ben Stokes last played a T20.

Nevertheless, he is seen by England’s white-ball coach Matthew Mott as being integral to their plans.

“Obviously Stokesy comes back in to that team,” Mott said to the press following England’s T20 series against South Africa. “When you add players like Stokes into any team, it makes selection a hell of a lot easier. You’ve basically got a free hit with the balance of your team – and that’s clearly something that has probably been missed by a few people. Having a world-class bowler that bats in the top four is a huge asset to any team, so bringing him back in fit as a bowler will put a whole different slant on the way we put our team together.

“There’s the seven games [in Pakistan] and I’m sure we’ll be changing our team around a little bit there, and then we’ll get that chemistry right when we take on Australia and then play three T20s. They’ll be the big games leading into that World Cup for us and we’ll have a bit more of an idea of where we’re at as a team at that stage.”

So what could those ideas be? England’s T20 top four, where Mott has slated Stokes to slot in, has been settled at Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow for a while now. However, despite Mott’s description of Stokes as a “top four” batter, England may wish to revert to using Stokes as a finisher lower down the order. Either way, something has to give.

Below, we take a look at three of the options.

The straight swap

Ben Stokes in. Dawid Malan or Jason Roy out. If Mott is committed to using Stokes at the top of the order in the same way he has been used in previous IPL competitions, then five must go into four and someone has to go. There is zero chance of skipper Jos Buttler missing out and next to zero of it being Jonny Bairstow. Which leaves only Malan and Roy on the chopping block.

Roy has been having an horrific run of form. However, his reputation as one of England’s great white-ball batters gives him more breathing room than most. However, added pressure on his place comes in the fact that Malan has been nothing short of sensational this Hundred, with match-winning scores of 88* and 98* already to his name.

Jason Roy has just been dismissed for his third duck in four innings in The Hundred.#TheHundred2022 pic.twitter.com/10SnlRGLHk

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 14, 2022

Whilst a simple solution, Stokes would be performing a role that he has hardly done for England before. He has batted just three times at No.3 for England in T20Is (the last being in 2016) and has never opened. He has, however, batted in the top three 29 times in domestic cricket, averaging 28.5 with a strike-rate of 139.1.

The reshuffle

Spots at the top of the order are at a premium and England, whether by persisting with Jason Roy or by bringing in another opener in Phil Salt, Will Smeed or Will Jacks, can decide the best way to utilise Stokes would be down the order as a finisher at five or six.

Stokes’ record at five and below for England reads 25 innings, a strike-rate of 136.2 and an average of 20.6. In domestic cricket, the corresponding numbers in the middle-order read 28, 136.6 and 30.

The move down the order would mean a shuffle for Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali who would then, in theory, occupy spots six and seven in the batting line-up as opposed to five and six.

The major victim in this scenario would likely be Sam Curran, who has been used as an all-rounder at seven at times this summer. But with Stokes back in town, that role may not be as required unless England opt in favour of a lengthened batting line-up and played Curran at eight.

No Stokes

Forgive me father, for I have sinned. There is world this winter where Stokes finds himself out of the T20I side and having retired from the ODI game.

While the legend and reputation of Stokes is deserved, his all-format superstardom has meant that he has not actually played that much of the format that his peers have become specialists in.

For instance, the 31-year-old Stokes has played just 21 more T20s than the 24-year-old Sam Curran has in his career. This is despite Stokes making his debut in the format the day after Curran’s twelfth birthday.

If Stokes does not hit the ground running in Pakistan and enters the World Cup without a meaningful contribution, another of Mott’s quotes will come to the fore.

“No one in the team has a mortgage on a spot,” Mott had said.

“When you’ve been a great player and you’ve delivered great things on a big stage, I think you deserve a bit of loyalty. You get some currency from having delivered on the big stage.

“But at certain times, hard decisions need to be made.”