"Would be lost for words if England appointed him" - Former English pacer reacts to chatter around Ben Stokes’ potential selection as ODI captain
Retired England pacer Stuart Broad has strongly warned against appointing Ben Stokes as ODI captain. Jos Buttler stepped down from his white-ball roles after their Champions Trophy 2025 debacle. Broad said he will be lost for words if the ECB did it as the all-rounder's injury woes could aggravate.
While reviewing England's Champions Trophy performance, managing director Robert Key said Stokes is a contender to succeed Buttler. The seam-bowling all-rounder had retired from ODI cricket in July 2022 but reversed his retirement ahead of their World Cup defence the following year. However, he hasn't played a white-ball game for England ever since.
The 38-year-old told The Daily Mail that the move to appoint Stokes would be one of desperation. H said that the all-rounder would find it tough to handle the workload of bowling in a 50-overs format. Broad also said that ODIs are more challenging than Tests, elaborating:
"Going for Stokes would be a move of desperation. I would be lost for words if England appointed him. Firstly, there is the schedule. He's not going to the Indian Premier League to try to prioritise the Test match team and get his physicality right for the big events on the horizon. How many overs has Stokes bowled successfully in the last three years while battling his knee injuries? Not many. And you're going to add another eight to 10 overs in a 50-over format onto his workload?"
"The mathematics of that make no sense. As someone who played 121 one-day internationals I can honestly say I found the 50-over format more tiring than Test match cricket."
The 33-year-old's knee has been a significant problem in the last two years, forcing him to bowl as minimum as possible. The Hundred's edition of 2024 saw him tweak his hamstring, putting him out of the Test series against Sri Lanka. Stokes did bowl a significant amount of overs in the Test series against New Zealand as the issue surfaced again and the all-rounder had to undergo surgery.
"You need to reintroduce Archer" - Stuart Broad's message to England ahead of Test series against India
With India set to play a five-Test series in England, Broad said it could be the best preparation for the Ashes series and expects Jofra Archer to return to red-ball cricket. He added:
"Personally, I would like the idea of playing a tough five-match series against India before the Ashes, but we know it will be physically challenging. What you don't want to happen is get to September and suddenly Stokes's knee's blown, Jofra Archer’s back has gone, or his elbow, and Mark Wood is out because the physicality of the cricket has been so strong.
"Yes, you want the players be battle-hardened, but I'd expect the bowlers to be managed well. So against India, you need to reintroduce Archer."
Archer, who has had his own struggles with injuries, hasn't played Tests since February 2021. The Test series against India begins on June 20.