"He is worth his place in the side almost on captaincy alone" - Mark Butcher on Ben Stokes as a specialist batter

Former England cricketer Mark Butcher feels Ben Stokes, even as a specialist batter, will be valuable in the Tests as well as the ODIs. There have been reports that Stokes is apparently ready to take a U-turn on his retirement after coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler wanted him to be a part of the ODI World Cup later this year.

However, Stokes also has had an injury in the left knee that potentially needs surgery, meaning that he might have to play in the World Cup just as a specialist batter.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mark Butcher explained why Ben Stokes playing just as a batter shouldn't be a problem because he is an absolute match-winner as seen in a couple of World Cup finals. He said:

"That looks like his role anyway. It certainly was during the course of the Ashes this summer. He barely bowled at all. If that's the way it pans out for him then, so be it.

"He is still worth his place in the side. He is worth his place in the side almost on captaincy alone. He also happens to be a decent batter (laughs)."

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Only Ben Stokes will know if playing ODIs is sustainable: Mark Butcher

Mark Butcher feels Ben Stokes will have his main focus on getting prepared to lead England in the five Tests against India in January next year. This means that he will need to sort out the knee surgery in such a way that he is fit enough to play the World Cup and also captain England in the Test series.

Butcher feels this could make his World Cup participation tricky. On this, he stated:

"Only he will know (whether it's sustainable) because the knee injury has dogged him for well over a year and will need surgery at some point. Ben's No. 1 priority is to captain England in that big tour of India coming up at the end of January next year. There are lots of ifs and buts."

One thing is for sure that England's middle order will be bolstered by the presence of an experienced player and match-winner like Stokes.