NICK HOWSON: White-ball head coach Matthew Mott won't put pressure on the 2019 hero to declare his intentions, but insists he wants more allrounders in his top-six for the tournament in India
England will give Ben Stokes until the middle of the summer to decide whether he wishes to be a part of the 50-over World Cup defence in India.
Stokes, player of the match in the dramatic 2019 final at Lord's, stepped away from the format last July due to the "unsustainable" global schedule, following challenges around his physical and mental health.
In the wake of another inspired World Cup-winning performance during the T20 success last year, Mott admitted "the door is open" for a return for the allrounder.
With countries not required to submit their squads until early September, there is no immediate pressure on Stokes to make a decision but a cut-off point in the future does appear to have been set.
"I deliberately made an effort to leave Ben alone," Mott said. "The issue about if he wants to play: we don't need to know for a while. Halfway through that summer, gauging how he is feeling physically and mentally that will be his call if he wants to put himself up for selection.
Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler have six months to consider their options (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
"We'd welcome him back. "We talk about team balance but a person that can bowl in any over of the game and can make big hundreds as well every team will cry out for that.
"The worst thing we can do is to put pressure on him to make a decision and we'll see how his body is holding up and see how he is feeling physically and mentally."
Though the pressure on Stokes, who turns 32 in June, to u-turn on his retirement appears to have eased, Mott's priority between now and the World Cup is establishing more flexibility within his line-up to ensure they can adapt to changeable conditions easier.
In real terms, this means more allrounders batting in the top six. This was trialled during the third ODI against Bangladesh when Sam Curran was promoted to No.5, coming in ahead of captain Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali.
"We're talking about long-term thinking we want to try and get some more allrounders in that top-six so we can have the versatility to adapt to all conditions," added the former Australia women's coach.
"Form in any format will be taken into account. Obviously, there are a certain amount of slots that you can lock in now and the rest are real timing issues"
"Not just Ben I think in general in a World Cup you don't know what is going to happen this far out. We have seen some obscure injuries that have tested our depth. The more we can put players in positions that put them under pressure a bit; it is a very different mindset coming in at No.7 or No.8 to the top four, five batters. The lessons, in particular, Sam will learn from yesterday will hold us in good stead in the long term."
Mott says as many as seven places of the 15 available for the World Cup squad remain unfilled. Of those assured of place are Jofra Archer, who remains unable to play back-to-back matches on medical advice as his recovery from multiple bouts of surgery continues, and Jonny Bairstow who is sidelined following his broken leg.
An attack comprising three spinners and a trio of seamers seems fixed for India, appearing to leave the door ajar for Liam Livingstone. Elsewhere, James Vince and Phil Salt (who averaged 16.33 and 18, respectively, in Bangladesh) remain "right in the mix".
"Keysy (Rob Key, managing director of England men's cricket), Jos and I have all probably got a crystal ball on what that 15 might look like and it is a bit different for all of us," Mott admitted. "We don't have a lot of cricket together but there is so much time between that opportunity.
"We've obviously got a couple of series leading into that but the selection has to be quite early due to ICC conditions. Injury and illness will play a part and it is inevitable we will get a couple of those.
On the plane: 2019 World Cup winners Bairstow and Archer (DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
"If one player comes out it may change the dynamic quite considerably. We've got an idea of what we want, we're all slightly different and when we get to those hard decisions it is going to be a really difficult team to pick.
"We've performed really well right down our depth charts but when you add four or five players back in that mix there are going to be some really hard calls."
While the player pool Mott will draw from is already substantial, he is not ruling out fresh faces making a late run, with the focus being on those who "influence matches". He added: "We've got eyes everywhere."
With the next 50-over internationals not taking place until after the World Cup squad is submitted to the ICC (New Zealand and Ireland visit in September), and the Royal London Cup not likely to involve anyone in contention for selection - "it doesn't bother me a heap" - Mott has no choice but to consider performances in other formats. Everything from the Ashes to The Hundred will be used as performance indicators over the next six months.
"We've got so many multi-format players," he explained. "Form in any format will be taken into account. Obviously, there are a certain amount of slots that you can lock in now and the rest are real timing issues.
"In any selection form and timing become a really important factor. Apart from the seven-eight slots that you probably lock in the rest is about timing."
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