Ben Stokes’ spot in England’s T20 World Cup side has been questioned by Mark Butcher following some lacklustre performances with the bat
Former England batter Mark Butcher has questioned Ben Stokes ‘ place in the side following their shock defeat to Ireland at the T20 World Cup.
Stokes was named in England’s World Cup squad despite not playing a T20I since March 2021 and he has struggled with the bat since returning to the side. In five T20Is this year, Stokes has scored just 41 runs at an average of 10.25 and a strike rate of 97.61.
And while Butcher believes Dawid Malan is also “under pressure” after scores of 18 off 30 and 35 off 37, he feels Stokes is the one “under the pump”. Speaking on the Wisden Cricket World Cup Daily podcast, Butcher said: “His [Malan’s] innings was a bad one and he will feel under pressure.
“But I still don’t think he’s the one under the pump. People will say Stokes is capable of doing something magnificent at some point and his fielding and bowling will play into it.