Ben Stokes as England ODI captain? Don’t be so absurd

If England choose to offer the one-day captaincy to Ben Stokes, they might as well not bother travelling to Australia for this winter’s Ashes.

That’s because if England’s Test captain takes over the 50-over gig, there’s a very high chance he might not even make it through the home summer given how susceptible he’s been to injury in recent years.

Make no mistake, the whole Bazball project will be judged on how England do in Australia this winter. Winning the five-Test series against India at home this summer would also go a long way to burnishing the legacy of Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

But to do that and make a fight of it Down Under, they need a full-fit, fully-functioning Stokes to be leading from the front.

If anything prevents that from happening – and let’s be honest, injury is surely the only barrier – then England’s Ashes hopes will be as good as dead in the water. Ollie Pope leading the team out for the series opener at Perth come 21 November, anyone?

Chatter, since verified by The i Paper, that Harry Brook is set to be named the new Twenty20 captain came as no surprise. There was a feeling in the wake of Jos Buttler’s resignation as white-ball captain following England’s elimination from the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February that Brook was the overwhelming favourite to take on the job.

Talk of split-captaincy was mooted at the time but dismissed as a serious option given the complications that would provide for McCullum, now coach across all three formats, and that England haven’t done it since 2012, when Stuart Broad (T20), Alastair Cook (ODI) and Andrew Strauss (Test) were in position.

Now, though, it looks a serious consideration for Rob Key, England’s director of cricket, given that it appears the one-day job is now a straight choice between Brook and Stokes.

The sensible option would be to appoint Brook and give him an understudy who is not in the Test team and who could fill in as captain for the lower-key white-ball series. Someone like Phil Salt.

It would alleviate fears over Brook’s workload in an Ashes year and would perhaps help the deputy take his game to a new level given added responsibility often helps bring the best out of players.

The bats**t option would be to hand Stokes the one-day job and pray the extra workload doesn’t break him during a year that will define his Test captaincy.

The argument made for giving Stokes the job is the fact England only have nine ODIs between now and the Ashes – six this summer and three in New Zealand in October. Realistically, Stokes would only play in the six this summer, and the hope is that, under his leadership, a talented squad that have gone into a death spiral can start winning again.

The counter-argument, and the one that surely makes the most sense, is that Stokes is struggling physically with his workload as it is. Two hamstring injuries in the past nine months are testament to that and even playing just Test cricket, the worry is his body won’t see him through to the Ashes anyway. Let’s not also forget the long-term knee injury that prevented him from bowling for the best part of 18 months before he had surgery on it in late 2023.

Stokes will do everything to give himself the best chance of reaching Australia. But England cannot write cheques his body can’t cash.

Stokes turns 34 this June and despite the work he does on his fitness, he is, like all ageing athletes, becoming increasingly susceptible to injury.

England can help him out by managing his workload and not increasing it both physically and in terms of the demands on his time and mental capacity.

Piling up the demands on him would be foolish. Actually, it would be idiotic and would see the Bazball project jump the shark (kids, Google Happy Days).

Broad, who knows a thing or two about the demands of fast bowling, branded the idea of offering Stokes the one-day captaincy “desperation” when it was first floated last month.

“I would be lost for words if England appointed him,” he added.

“How many overs has Stokes successfully bowled in the last three years while battling knee injuries?”

Michael Vaughan, speaking at the Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s this week, has also seen through the stupidity of considering Stokes.

“In a way, I think it’s quite selfish to even consider him, because he will say yes because he is Ben Stokes,” Vaughan said.

“He will do whatever England ask him to do. Just don’t ask him, just let him look after his body and get him playing Test cricket for as long as possible.”

It’s a sentiment the vast majority of cricket fans would agree with. Let’s hope Key and McCullum see sense before doing anything stupid. Just don’t bank on it.