“The last thing we want to do is rush someone and jump with the intensity level”; England’s white ball captain Eoin Morgan says there was no temptation to rush Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler back from injury for the ODI or IT20 series against Pakistan.
England will want Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler to play a big role in all formats this year
Eoin Morgan insists there was no temptation to rush Ben Stokes for England’s one-day series against Pakistan and will take an equally cautious approach with Jos Buttler.
Stokes broke his left index finger while playing for the Rajasthan Royals in April and spent several weeks recovering from surgery before returning to Durham last month.
Since then the off-roader has played six times in the Vitality Blast, with a maximum score of 35 and eight wickets to his credit, and is currently making his first-class comeback in the LV = Insurance County Championship against Warwickshire.
But he will not be involved in the three-game Royal London Series against Pakistan, which begins in Cardiff on Thursday, as England prefer a conservative approach to their fitness and conditioning.
He will also miss the first ODI at Lord’s since his man-of-the-match heroism in the 2019 World Cup final, but preparing him for the summer’s main course, five Tests against India, is a priority.
When asked if Stokes had been considered for action this week, Morgan said: “No, not yet.
“The last thing we want to do is rush someone and jump with the intensity level of cricket from county to international when it’s not necessarily a necessity. We’re happy Ben is progressing as he sees fit, and we obviously have one. Eye on the series. Test too “.
Buttler is currently out of the game with a calf injury and with so much cricket ahead of him, including a T20 World Cup and an Ashes tour over the winter, his case is also being handled carefully.
“We’re not very sure at this point, but from what I heard, calves can be quite temperamental,” Morgan said.
“It depends on how you feel. It’s an instance similar to Ben’s, the priority wouldn’t be to get him back ASAP if there’s a 50-50 chance. I know he made progress in his career a couple days ago and feels good, but things can change. “
With Jofra Archer also currently out of the game, George Garton was called up to the team for the series against Sri Lanka, along with marginal players like Liam Dawson and Tom Banton.
All three were left out of the final game of the trip to Sri Lanka on Sunday, despite England achieving victory in each of the previous five.
The match in Bristol finally faded after England dismissed the tourists for 166, but Morgan was happy to explain the logic behind the team’s conservative selection.
“It’s very rare that we put someone in a single game. The reason behind that is that it doesn’t have a lot of context unless it’s a series of games,” he said.
“When you identify a player or a talent to join a team, I think you should always invest in that talent and think long term … give them several opportunities and not just one.
“For years I’ve seen guys go in and out of camps and receive one-off matches and, whether by chance or form, they haven’t been given many after that. It’s not a way you want to treat a good asset. or an asset for the future. “
Catch the first ODI between England and Pakistan, in Cardiff, live on Sky Sports Cricket starting at 12.30pm on Thursday.
