Ben’s a booster for flops
® from RODNEY WHITE BEN STOKES got a warm welcome when he rejoined the England squad in New Zealand yesterday, ending his five-month exile from the international set-up.
And no wonder, after England were hammered in the Ashes and have yet to pick up a point in the T20 triangular tournament against Australia and New Zealand.
The Aussies are already in the final and yesterday hunted down a world record T20 target of 244 to beat the Kiwis in Auckland.
But England can still qualify if they beat New Zealand in Hamilton tomorrow and massively improve their run rate.
Stokes arrived in Auckland yesterday after jumping on a plane at Heathrow a day after pleading not guilty at Bristol magistrates’ court to a charge of affray, following a disturbance outside a nightclub in September.
He was met with smiles and hugs by David Willey and Liam Plunkett, who will play no further part in the England tour after injuring a hamstring.
Action
Stokes will train with England today but his focus will be the ODI series against New Zealand, starting on February 25.
And England’s Aussie head coach Trevor Bayliss thinks the Durham all-rounder could be ready for action sooner rather than later.
“It’s about making a judgment call at some stage,” said Bayliss.
“In the past he’s been injured and come back sooner than we thought. It doesn’t take him long at all to get back up to speed.
“He’s been indoors doing plenty in the last month or two. It’ll just be a case of getting him on turf wickets and a few outdoor nets.”
Asked if there were any worries about crowd reaction on his return, Bayliss added: “He’d probably cop some anyway, even if he hadn’t been out for a few months.
“It’s par for the course to try and put one of the better players off.”
Plunkett suffered a grade-one tear in his left hamstring midway through last month’s victorious ODI series against Australia.
But he remained with the team with the hope of featuring in the T20 series.
The 32-year-old sat out the first two matches against Australia but he returned in the defeat by the Black Caps on Tuesday and aggravated the injury.