Ben Stokes reverses ODI retirement ahead of 2023 World Cup, named in New Zealand series squad; Brook, Archer miss out

Stokes retired from One Day Internationals in July 2022 and as recently as in the aftermath of the Ashes, had reiterated his intentions of staying retired from the 50-over format.

Ben Stokes was named Player of the Match in the 2019 World Cup final. | Photo Credit: AFP

Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, has reversed his decision to retire from 50-over cricket ahead of the team’s title defence in India in October, and has been named in the men’s ODI squad in the forthcoming series against New Zealand.

England men’s national selector Luke Wright said: “Any series against New Zealand is closely fought and will provide us with an ideal opportunity to test ourselves against one of the best teams in the world.

“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.”

Harry Brook missed out on a place in the squad as the 2019 World Cup winning captain returned. Pacer Jofra Archer was also omitted following the recurrence of his injury.

England coach Matthew Mott recently revealed that he was eager to lure the Test team skipper out of retirement and was willing to play him as just a pure batter in ODIs.

Stokes retired from One Day Internationals in July 2022 and as recently as in the aftermath of the Ashes, had reiterated his intentions of staying retired from the 50-over format to be fit for the Test series against India in early 2024.

Stokes suffered a knee injury during his time in New Zealand back in February, causing him to miss most of the Indian Premier League season.

England squad for New Zealand series

Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.