
Ben Stokes Urged To Reconsider Retirement, Play 2026 T20 World Cup
With less than a year left before the latest edition of the marquee event in India and Sri Lanka, Doull sees Stokes's inclusion as vital for England. According to him, Stokes will be a tactical advantage, allowing them to go in with two genuine seamers and leave enough room to add spinners in the XI on the turning tracks in the subcontinent.
"I think England might be hanging their hats on convincing Stokes to play in the 2026 T20 World Cup. I'm serious! They fully believe in that dressing room, and in that management group, that they will convince him to play. He then fills that role that means they can go in with two genuine seamers, Stokes and then the spin options they want in the side, which includes Bethell, Jacks, Rashid," Doull said as quoted from Sky Sports.
England will line up under the newly established captaincy of Harry Brook after Jos Buttler relinquished the position following an abysmal run in the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
In his first assignment as England's white-ball captain, Brook boasts a 5-0 record with three ODI victories over the West Indies and then topping it up with two wins on the trot over the Caribbean side.
With immense firepower in his ranks, Brook-led England gunned down a daunting 197-run target set by the Men in Maroon to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match contest.
"I've said plenty of times, we have a lot of depth. With small boundaries here, we felt West Indies were under par by about 30 runs. It gives us great confidence knowing we've got Will Jacks, Tom Banton, and Jacob Bethell batting five, six and seven. The top order can go out there all guns blazing," Brook told Sky Sports.
Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
‘Salty, crybaby' Ben Stokes becomes centre of Internet's ‘no-handshake' meme fest; Jadeja farms ‘infinte aura'
As the heat on the 'no-handshake' controversy at the Manchester Test turned up, the Internet also got to doing the thing it does best – a meme fest. This time, England captain Ben Stokes was facing the heat for being 'salty' and was called a 'crybaby'. Meanwhile, Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja 'farmed infinite aura' points with the netizens. After KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were dismissed in the first session of play on Day 4 of the Manchester Test, India's hope of securing a draw seemed bleak, and England looked favourites to win the match once again. However, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar stuck around batting for two full sessions to ensure that only a draw was likely. Realising this, English skipper Ben Stokes decided not to put any more pressure on his bowlers and suggested a handshake to end the match ahead of schedule. As Jadeja was batting on 89 and Washington Sundar on 80, the Indian batters refused the handshake, wanting some kind of reward for their hard-fought innings in the form of centuries. The English team, however, were not pleased. Stokes and his teammates immediately began trying to convince the Indian players to change their minds, with the England captain even suggesting Jadeja could bring up his ton against part-time bowler Harry Brook. Both Jadeja and Sundar reached their respective centuries in the coming few overs, and the match eventually ended in a draw once that was done, with Stokes still not looking pleased with how things had turned out. A social media user said, 'This is how they react… Ben Stokes couldn't handle a little rejection. India said 'no' to his draw offer, and he had a full-blown ego meltdown. Skipped the handshake with Jadeja…he was that hurt! Come on, Ben… don't be salty, be sporty.' 'Seriously Ben Stokes???? No handshake??' asked another. 'What a crybaby. Test hundred is always special for everyone yrrrr,' exclaimed a user. Another added, 'Fcking salty englishmen.' 'Stokes should be grateful Jadeja & Washi walked off after scoring centuries, Virat Kohli would have batted the entire 15 overs had crybaby Ben tried this nonsense with him,' quipped one user. 'No team in world cricket have ever spoken the most about the spirit of game yet played against the spirit of the game as much as Ben Stokes and his team have done,' a netizen highlighted. 'Not seen a more pathetic opponent in Cricket than England,' said another. An English supporter also slammed Stokes, and said, 'Big England supporter obviously. But this evening's shenanigans exhibit nicely why we are the most disliked team in world cricket.' Star Sports joined in to say, 'Scored a hundred, saved the Test, farmed infinite aura! Ravindra Jadeja didn't hesitate till the end.'


Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Ben Stokes calls injury replacements ‘absolutely ridiculous'; India coach Gambhir backs substitutions, says ‘I'm all for it'
England skipper Ben Stokes feels 'absolutely ridiculous' to have a conversation on whether teams should be allowed replacement players mid-way through a game in case of a major injury. This came after Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishab Pant fractured his toe during the first innings of the Manchester Test. 'I think it's absolutely ridiculous that there's a conversation around an injury replacement,' Stokes said during the post-match press conference of the fourth Test, where India managed to draw the game with gritty knocks from KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar at Old Trafford on Sunday. 'I think that there would just be too many loopholes for teams to be able to go through. You pick your 11 for a game; injuries are part of the game. I completely understand the concussion replacement: player welfare, player safety. But I think the conversation should just honestly stop around injury replacements because if you stick me in an MRI scanner, I could get someone else in straightaway,' he added. 'If you stick anyone else with an MRI scanner, a bowler is going to show, 'Oh yeah, you've got a bit of inflammation around your knee. Oh sweet, we can get another fresh bowler in'. I just think that conversation should be shut down and stopped,' said Stokes. As per the existing rules, teams can opt for a replacement player in case of concussion, but if there any other external injuries like in the case of Pant fracturing the toe, replacement is not allowed. India head coach Gautam Gambhir had different thoughts from Stokes and said he is all for the replacement. 'Absolutely, I'm all for it,' Gambhir said after the game. 'If the umpires and the match referee sees and feels that is a major injury, I think it's very important. It's very important to have this rule where you can get a substitute, that is, if it's (the injury) very visible. 'There's nothing wrong in doing that, especially in a series like this where it's been such a closely-fought series in the previous three Test matches. Imagine if we would've had to play with 10 men against 11. How unfortunate would this be for us,' added Gambhir. Earlier, Former England captain Michael Vaughan also called for an adjustment in the substitution rule. 'I don't like the fact that we've got four days left in the game, four days of action in what has been an incredible series where we are going to have 10 versus 11,' Vaughan had said to BBC Sports. 'I prefer that you'd have a sub. You know, once they brought in concussion subs, I was crying out, saying, 'Well, just have substitutions then in the first innings of a game.' That would be my stepping point. If it happens in the second innings, I feel that team might kind of break the rules or indulge in a bit of skullduggery. But if it's clear and obvious when someone breaks a hand or a foot or ruptures a calf it's so evident that someone is in real pain and can't carry on. I think it's very clear to me: you should be allowed a sub,' said Vaughan.


The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Women's Euro 2025: Spain being ‘the best team of the tournament' wasn't enough to win trophy, says Aitana Bonmati
Being the most skillful and technically best team at the Women's European Championship wasn't enough to get Spain the title on Sunday. The 2023 World Cup winner and 2024 UEFA Nations League title holder still does not have a European title for its stellar generation after a penalty shootout loss to England in the final after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Spain trailed for just four minutes' play across six games in the entire tournament. England led for barely five minutes' play in its three knockout rounds games — and none against Spain. 'We were the best team of the tournament, but sometimes that's not enough,' Spain star Aitana Bonmatí said. Bonmatí cut a sad figure walking to the trophy ceremony platform to collect her trophy as the best player of the tournament, which she began days after being hospitalized with a bout of viral meningitis. Bonmatí's spot kick in the shootout was one of two saved by England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. Mariona Caldentey, whose 25th-minute headed goal seemed to set Spain on track for victory, also had her penalty saved. Caldentey also went close to scoring a second time in the first half, in which tournament top scorer Esther Gonzalez had three chances to score. Early in the second half, Caldentey's Arsenal teammates Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo combined to level the score on Russo's header. 'I'm a bit in shock,' Bonmatí said. 'It was cruel. We played better, created more scoring chances, but in soccer sometimes that's not enough. It all came down to the penalties.' 'I'm sorry for my miss,' said two-time Ballon d'Or winner Bonmatí, whose teammates Caldentey and Alexia Putellas also failed from the spot in a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland. 'I think this team deserved more. At least not living with this bitter feeling,' Spain coach Montse Tomé said in translated comments. Spain captain Irene Paredes said it was 'hard to look for the positives so soon. Right now, it's a very tough moment.' 'England were happy just to reach penalties but, in the shootout, we didn't perform well,' said Paredes, whose Barcelona team also lost the Women's Champions League final in May to an English opponent, Arsenal. 'To be a champion you need some luck, and I believe they had it.' Spain still is a world champion and will soon prepare to start qualifying for the defense of its title. The 2027 World Cup is being played in Brazil. 'We will be back,' Bonmatí said. 'There will be a World Cup in a couple of years, and that's our goal now. This is a golden generation, with a lot of young players.'