Door is always open for Ben Stokes to make England ODI return: Matthew Mott 

Stokes retired from ODIs last year [Source: Twitter]

Ben Stokes took a surprise retirement from the One-Day International (ODI) last year in a bid to prolong his Test and T20I career. England's white-ball coach Matthew Mott, ahead of their ODI series against South Africa, said that the door is open for Stokes to make a return.

Stokes, who starred for England in their World Cup 2019 win, has played 105 ODIs, scoring 2,924 runs and claimed 74 wickets between 2011 and 2022. 

England will embark on their first ODI assignment in 2023, which also happens to be a World Cup year, where the Three Lions will defend their title in India. 

Speaking to SKY Sports, Mott said that England wants to pick the best players for the marquee event. 

Here's what Mott said

"We've had a couple of hook-ups here and there and I jokingly said 'how are you going, are you ready to make your decision?' At the moment he's non-committal. The door is always open for a player of that quality but we are also very aware that his main focus is is red-ball cricket as the captain.

We need to keep a really flexible, open mind to players and when we sit down to pick that 15 for the World Cup, we want to pick the best players possible."

Mott talking about Jofra Archer who is making a return to the national squad after 2021, said that the pacer is frothing to play.

The Jos Buttler-led England will play South Africa in the first ODI at Bloemfontein on Friday.

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