England limited-overs coach Matthew Mott hopes he can lure Ben Stokes out of ODI retirement ahead of the Cricket World Cup in 2023.
Star all-rounder Stokes called an end to his 50-over international career in July as he suggested the workload amid a packed schedule was "unsustainable" alongside his Test captaincy.
The 31-year-old did not bow out of the shortest format, though, and proved his white-ball worth with a vital 52 not out in Sunday's T20 World Cup final victory over Pakistan.
Stokes became just the third player to score 50-plus runs in finals of both an ODI World Cup and a T20 World Cup, having starred against New Zealand in the dramatic Lord's showpiece in 2019.
England are the first side to boast duel limited-overs titles at the same time, and Mott hopes he can convince Stokes to return to defend their ODI crown in India next year.
"When he spoke to me about his ODI retirement, one of the first things I said was that I'd back any decision he made," Mott told Sky Sports.
"He didn't necessarily have to retire, he could just not play 50 overs for a while. I did say 'you could always un-retire'. It's his decision. He'll do what's right for English cricket and he always has.
"It's going to be a World Cup year and we don't play much T20 cricket for a while but it will be a decision that's up to him. The more we can get him is great. He's a world-class player.
"He's doing an amazing job with the Test captaincy but he is a very big cog in the wheel when he comes back to white ball. I can't speak more highly of the way he's been around this group."
Stokes and Sam Curran, who took the second-most wickets by a pace bowler (13) at an edition of the T20 World Cup, both delivered on the biggest stage for England.
But Mott also pinpointed the influential figures of Reece Topley and Jonny Bairstow, who both missed the tournament in Australia due to injury.
"Reece Topley was a big part of our preparation for here," the Australian added. "I was absolutely gutted for him, such an innocuous injury. Seeing him leave our group was hard.
"I must admit he was one of the first blokes I thought of (after England's win) – and Jonny as well.
"Those guys, it's hard for them when you prepare so much to do something like this, and they don't come round that often, to have to miss that opportunity is heartbreaking."
England's success Down Under could be somewhat credited to Australia, though, given Mott was partnered by Mike Hussey and David Saker in his coaching setup.
"Players make coaches, coaches don't make players at this level," Mott continued "There's no doubt it was a real advantage in Australia to have some Australian coaches around.
"A lot of people just said I got my mates in to do the role. But both of those appointments were suggested by players within our group and had worked with both of them before."
Inglis hails 'hard to stop' Stoinis after ruthless knock
Josh Inglis lauded "hard to stop" Marcus Stoinis as Australia signed off their T20I series against Pakistan in style, claiming a whitewash.
The hosts raced to a seven-wicket victory with almost nine overs remaining in Monday's third match.
After Australia's bowlers had limited Pakistan to just 117 runs, Stoinis ensured they signed off their final white-ball assignment in style, with his unbeaten 61 doing the damage.
Only twice has he bettered that knock in T20Is – versus New Zealand in 2021 (78) and against Oman at the World Cup earlier this year (67*).
"It's been a great week. We've had a lot of fun as a group," Inglis said. "It's been really nice.
"When Stoinis is going like that, he is really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've ever seen!"
Stoinis, who was named player of the match, added: "Nice to score some runs on a beautiful wicket but credit to the bowlers who kept the total down.
"Yeah, I actually told [Haris] Rauf that this is the first time any of us got the better of him! No, he's a brilliant bowler, bowled well this series."
During their white-ball tour, Pakistan won the ODI series, their first time doing so in Australia in 22 years, but got whitewashed in the T20Is.
Despite the heavy loss, captain Agha Salman chose to focus on the positive effect the experience will have on their young players.
"I think in the middle overs, we didn't capitalise on the start," he said. "But lots of positives.
"The way Usman [Khan] batted, the way Jahandad [Khan] bowled. These youngsters will come good.
"It's obviously a big achievement winning the ODI series, but we could have done much better in the T20Is."
Buttler delighted England have 'winning habit back' despite fifth-match washout
Jos Buttler is pleased to have England's "winning habit back" after securing a 3-1 T20I series win over West Indies, with the final match abandoned due to rain.
England had opted to bowl and the hosts reached 44-0 through Evin Lewis (29) and Shai Hope (14) after five overs before the downpour began in St Lucia.
Despite ground staff's attempts to clear the surface, the match was abandoned, with England claiming the win, having lost the ODI leg of the tour 2-1.
The tourists had won the first three T20Is, with the West Indies earning a consolation on Saturday in a high-scoring clash. Despite not finishing their final white-ball assignment of 2024, Buttler was delighted with the work his side have done this week.
"We're delighted with the series win. We've played some brilliant cricket," Buttler said.
"I've been happy with how we've started games, setting the tone with the powerplay wickets, as we've seen from Saqib being named player of the series. We've had lots of different guys chipping in at various times, so I'm really pleased for everybody.
"The fast-bowling department is looking good, and they all bring something different with their variety, so it's exciting for English cricket to have that.
"I enjoyed it [being captain without keeping], I felt like I had a bit more time, and it was nice to be out there running around and closer to the bowlers. I got everything I wanted to out of doing that.
"It's great to have the winning habit back."
West Indies struggled to carry over their ODI form into the T20I series but were looking to restore some pride in the final match, having impressed in the fourth. Captain Rovman Powell is now hoping they can find some consistency.
"It's been a tough series and credit Jos Buttler and his team, who came to these conditions and dominated. Having said that, we played good cricket in patches but not in long enough periods," he said.
"I think we always, as a batting group, use a template, but that didn't work in our first few games. As a team, we need to assess faster. It took us two or three games. The bowling group needs to sharpen up in a few areas.
"It's always a problem with the Caribbean cricketers, we always wander off when we are not playing for West Indies. It's a treadmill, and we don't spend time together. We have to keep our communication with players and ensure they are ready to go."
England 'in a strong place as a team', says Buttler after series-clinching West Indies win
Jos Buttler believes England are in a "strong place" after they edged past West Indies in St. Lucia, beating them by three wickets to claim a series-winning victory.
The tourists took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, but had to rely heavily on luck during their 146-run chase, with Liam Livingstone dropped three times on the way to 39.
But it was England's bowlers who initially did the damage, with Saqib Mahmood putting in a player-of-the-match performance to finish with figures of 3-17, with his three wickets coming in the powerplay, in which the West Indies were skittled to 37-5.
Mahmood's three wickets came in the powerplay, in which the West Indies were skittled to 37-5. Mahmood was clearly delighted with the bowling performance after the match.
Captain Rovman Powell (54) helped the hosts recover, but they were ultimately unable to post a winning score and finished on 145-8.
It was not an easy ride for England, though, having initially slipped to 37-3 in their own powerplay, before Sam Curran knocked 41 off 26 balls to dig his side out of a hole.
It was left to Livingstone to finish the job, having been dropped twice by Nicholas Pooran on six and eight and again by Shimron Hetmyer on 21.
But England squeaked over the line with just four balls remaining, consolidating their lead in the series with just two matches remaining.
"[It was] a real collective effort to win the series, which is really pleasing. I've been so impressed with how we've set the tone in the powerplays in all three games so far," said captain Buttler.
"We're in a really strong place as a team. We've got really good competition for places too, when you consider the players who aren't here."
Mahmood's fast start was key to England's success on Thursday, and he was delighted with his personal performance after the match.
"As a bowling unit we've always had the mindset of wanting to take early wickets," he said.
"We know their batting line-up is stacked all the way down, but we haven't backed down, and we have taken powerplay wickets in every game so far.
"I feel really free in this team now. It feels like my spot, and it feels like a really great chance to express myself out there."
West Indies captain Rovman Powell, meanwhile, was clear where his side need to tighten up.
"It's a bit disappointing, we keep losing wickets in the powerplay and in clusters. We need to be our natural selves," he said.
"We know we are stroke players and come out aggressively but that little element of being smart was missing."
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