England set for World Cup defence 'without Ben Stokes' despite Matthew Mott plea

21 March 2023 , 17:25

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Ben Stokes retired from ODIs last year (Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

England white-ball coach Matthew Mott has repeatedly spoken of his desire to tempt Ben Stokes out of ODI retirement ahead of the 50-over World Cup later this year.

Stokes walked away from the format last summer, citing the "unsustainable" schedule as the main reason behind his decision. But as the hero of England's 2019 victory, scoring an unbeaten 84 in the final, Mott has retained hope the all-rounder would reverse his decision ahead of their World Cup defence.

After Stokes struck an unbeaten 52 in the final of last year's T20 World Cup, helping England become double world champions in the process, Mott said: "I did say he could always unretire.

"That's his decision. It's going to be a World Cup year and we don't play much T20 cricket for a while but it will be a decision that's up to him."

Earlier this month, Mott gave Stokes a deadline of "halfway through the summer" to make a decision on his involvement in the World Cup and the i is now reporting that it is 'almost certain' that Stokes will remain retired.

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The report states that Stokes is 'all but certain to pass up the opportunity' to return for the World Cup due to the chronic left knee injury that has been plaguing him since he took over as Test captain this summer.

England white-ball coach Matthew Mott had been hoping Stokes would reverse his decision ahead of this year's World Cup (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Stokes has been doing his best to manage the injury, but visibly struggled during last month's tour of New Zealand. He also downplayed concerns his involvement in the upcoming IPL, where he has a bumper deal worth £1.2m, could jeopardise his involvement in the Ashes.

The five-match series has been squeezed into a tight 46-day window, meaning he is unlikely to play a full part as a bowler given his troublesome knee and the report claims that Stokes 'will at some stage require either surgery on the knee or a prolonged rest'.

With a huge five-match Test series against India in India on the horizon next January, it states 'the five-month break following the Ashes would be perfect to get himself 100 per cent fit again'.

Matthew Cooper