"Me, me, me" - Ex-Australia captain slams Ben Stokes' ODI retirement reversal
Former Australian captain Tim Paine has hammered Ben Stokes following his ODI retirement u-turn, accusing the England star of picking and choosing when he wants to play.
The 32-year-old all-rounder skippers the Test side and had placed his focus on that, calling time on his career in the 50-over format of the game. Now though, with England about to defend their World Cup crown in India, Stokes has opted to make himself available once more.
He is part of a 15-man squad that will head to the Asian country, which is renowned for being immensely difficult for visiting teams. Stokes was a standout as England won the tournament four years ago but Paine has criticised the manner in which he's changed his decision, which has cost some of his compatriots.
The Aussie told SEN Tassie: “Ben Stokes coming out of one day retirement, I found that interesting. 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’.” He also added: “The guys who played for 12 months, ‘Sorry, thanks. But can you go and sit on the bench because I want to play now?’”
Stokes' innings in the final win against New Zealand at Lord's remains iconic, whilst he also produced several memorable knocks through the early stages of the competition. He has continued to underline his quality for England and selector Luke Wright didn't have to beg Stokes to come back.
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He said: “It wasn’t really a case of changing his mind. He was always interested in coming back. He had to make that priority of getting through the Ashes, have a break and give the body a rest.
Harry Brook has shown himself to be an excellent one day player (NOAH SEELAM/AFP via Getty Images)"It wasn’t a case of needing to beg him or anything like that, he was always keen, so it was actually fairly straightforward. Once his body was in a good place and he’d had a rest, he was really keen to play. We’re delighted from our point of view and I’m sure England fans and everyone can be absolutely delighted,”
Stokes will play alongside a host of the men with whom he won the World Cup in 2019, including captain Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow. Youngster Harry Brook was the notable name omitted from the list despite his impressive efforts of late with Wright admitting it was a tough call.
“This is the squad we’re going to put forward. It’s incredibly tough but in that middle order, with Stokes coming back as a batter, it does squeeze someone out," he admitted.
"There’s no denying what a superstar Brooky is, and what a huge future he’s got with us going forward in all formats. That’s the incredibly tough decision we had to make. Unfortunately in a 15-man squad someone’s going to have to miss out, and on this occasion it’s been him.”
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