Test captain Ben Stokes says he would absolutely accept a call-up to the England white-ball team under new manager Brendan McCollum.
McCollum will officially take over as white-ball coach alongside the Test team’s head coach from January 2025, covering the white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Under the new regime, all forms of England coaching will be consolidated under McCollum, with Stokes keen to return to England.
“I’ve played a lot of white-ball cricket for England and I’m very happy and satisfied with what I’ve achieved in that form of the game,” Stokes said. Sky Sports Cricket.
“If I can be involved in any way in the plans for the white-ball team going forward that would be great, but if I don’t that’s fine because it means someone else is coming along and doing really well.
“If I get a call to come and play, I’ll definitely take it. But if I don’t, I won’t be too disappointed. It just means I can sit back and watch other people go out and hit.
“Me and Baz (Brendan) have never talked about anything like that.
“He just lets me focus on what I need to do with the testing team and when the time comes and the conversation comes, I’ll know the results.
“This white-ball team has definitely taken a new direction, especially this summer.
“We’ve seen some incredibly talented players emerge. One of them is Jacob Bethel. I think he’s going to be a superstar.”
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Stokes said McCullum was a brilliant coach and he could ‘not believe’ he would now be coaching both the white-ball and red-ball England teams.
England’s white-ball squad are currently in the midst of a rebuild after losing both world titles in the space of eight months, which led to the departure of Matthew Mott.
Stokes gave up the T20 World Cup earlier this year to focus on the Test summer, and England have won five of their six games.
The home team won the West Indies resoundingly and went 2-1 ahead against Sri Lanka after a poor performance in the third and final Test match at the Oval.
McCullum’s success was evidenced by England winning 22 of the 29 Test matches played under his leadership.
Stokes’ last white-ball appearance came for Northern Superchargers during The Hundred this summer, when he suffered a thigh muscle injury that ruled him out of the Sri Lanka Test series and the upcoming tour of Pakistan is also doubtful.
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Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Michael Atherton said McCullum would still face challenges coaching England’s Test and One-Day squads despite the slightly relaxed fixture schedule.
“He (Brendan McCollum) asked me about it (the white-ball position). I had to keep quiet for a moment because I knew it was coming a long time before it was announced,” Stokes added.
“I’m a cricket fan, I’m an English cricket fan and I want all the teams to do well as well as each other.
“If I was selfish I would have said, ‘No, you have to come with us’. But I think it’s an incredible opportunity for the white-ball team to experience what Baz brings to the Test team.
“He’s an incredible coach, he speaks with total commitment, he really believes in what he’s talking about and what he’s trying to convey… and he inspires you to go out there and play that way.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the white-ball team with McCollum in the dressing room and it’s great to have three teams with the same messaging and the same philosophy about cricket.”
England Tour Pakistan 2024 – Series Schedule:
- First Test, Multan – October 7-11
- Second Test, Multan – October 15-19
- 3rd Test, Rawalpindi – October 24-28
England vs Australia schedule – All matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
- 1st ODI (September 19) – Trent Bridge, Nottingham – Australia wins by 7 wickets
- 2nd ODI (September 21) – Headingley, Leeds – Australia wins by 68 points
- 3rd ODI (September 24) – Seat Unique Riverside, Durham (starts at 12:30pm)
- 4th ODI (September 27) – Lord’s, London (starts at 12.30pm)
- 5th ODI (29th September) – The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (11am kick-off)
