by England could surprise by asking Ben Stokes to take care of their sick white ball team, with the managing director Rob Key admitting “it would be stupid” not to consider the test skipper.
Jos Buttler withdrew as a captain of the limited oblies after his disappointing reign ended with a lamentable champions trophy campaign which left his team breastfeeding a series of 10 defeats against 11 games since the turn of the year.
His vice-captain, Harry Brook, was supposed to be at the front of the queue if the next generation was invited to intensify, but Key, the director general of male cricket, gives himself time to consider his options.
And, in an unexpected decision, the widening of the memory of Stokes seems to be one of them.
The 33 -year -old man turned out to be a natural leader and inspiring since his joe Root’s red ball, but his age and injury problems – he is currently recovering from a second serious problem in the hamstrings in a year and has already undergone a major knee surgery – he means that he has operated as a test specialist for almost 18 months.
However, Key is alive at the prospect of associating the duo “Bazball” of Stokes and Brendon McCullum, having already installed the latter as a cross-chief coach.
“I think nothing is really out of the table. Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I have ever seen, “he said.
“It would be stupid not to look at it. It’s just the training effect of what it means.
“You just try to find who is the best leader to advance this team?” Who can manage this? Who will really drive it? Leadership is everything. It is an incredibly good tactician, which we saw in Test Cricket, but he is a leader of men. »»
Keeping Fresh Stokes and Ready for Action, in particular given its long -standing fitness difficulties, will be a main concern.
He has not played an international T20 since the triumphant final of the November 2022 World Cup and has not been in an ODI since the 2023 tournament in India.
The danger of pushing Stokes to Breaking Point in a year which sees a series of renowned households against India, followed by a long -awaited Ashes tour in winter, but Key is tempted by a more optimistic perspective.
“We don’t want to risk other things, but there is always a way in England to start watching:” What if it is wrong? ” ». Well, you should also think: “What if it’s okay?” “He said.
“These are the decisions I have to make. People surprise you, aren’t you? I think he was an exceptional leader and he likes to do the work. Well has a lot of energy for many things. »»
Key met Stokes in a training camp in Abu Dhabi last week, where he combined his current rehabilitation with his first steps to an off -scope future in the game.
“We want our best people to go to training. We therefore put it through the development of coaches, ”revealed Key.
Key did not hesitate to abjection of form which forced the hand of buttler and presented his current enigma offering an overwhelming evaluation of the recent outing of the team.
He suggested that the form of an old -fashioned striker of the team had “fallen from a cliff” and also admitted that some of the team’s public statements had been poorly judged.
Since the start of the “Bazball” era, England has become known to make daring statements, sometimes threatening to cross the ultra positive line with the delirious plain.
Typically frankly, Key admitted: “When we do interviews, when players do their post-match press conferences or anything, we are talking a lot of waste most of the time.
“They try so hard not to somehow upset the players in the locker room, trying not to give something that they do not think they should. They end up creating titles for that, but I don’t really kill people for the things they say. »»
