Ben Stokes comes out of ODI retirement ahead of England’s defense of Cricket World Cup

London, August 16

Ben Stokes is coming out of retirement from one-day internationals to play in England’s defense of the Cricket World Cup.

Stokes quit ODIs last year, saying playing in all three formats was unsustainable.

The allrounder is England’s test captain and starred for the Twenty20 team in its run to the World Cup title last year in the game’s shortest format.

Now he will be playing in the 50-over format again, too, with England selecting him Wednesday initially for the upcoming four-match one-day series against New Zealand at home in September.

The majority of that squad will make up the group for the Cricket World Cup in India starting in October.

“The return of Ben Stokes only adds to that quality with his match-winning ability and leadership,” said Luke Wright, England national selector. “I am certain that every fan will enjoy seeing him back in an England ODI shirt again.”

Stokes played in the recently completed Ashes series despite a long-standing knee injury which prevented him from bowling as much as usual.

Stokes was England’s match-winner in the 2019 Cricket World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord’s.