Ben Stokes Rested For The Hundred & T20I Series Against South Africa; Matty Potts Receives Maiden ODI Squad Call Up

Cricket Image for Ben Stokes Rested For The Hundred & T20I Series Against South Africa; Matty Potts (Image Source: AFP)

Star all-rounder Ben Stokes will not play in England's T20I series against South Africa, Vitality IT20 series and The Hundred, in order to manage his workload and fitness, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Friday.

The ECB confirmed the news while announcing the England men's squads for the upcoming three ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, which begin next week.

England's Test skipper Stokes missed the T20I series against India to rest after captaining England to four consecutive Test victories against New Zealand and India at the start of the summer. With three more against South Africa beginning in the middle of August, Stokes has been given rest, which also means missing the second edition of the Hundred for Northern Superchargers.

He also played in only two games of the inaugural season of The Hundred for the Northern Superchargers.

"To manage the workload and fitness of England Men's Test captain Ben Stokes, he will not feature in the Vitality IT20 series and The Hundred competition, which is due to start next month," the ECB said in a statement.

Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid has returned to both squads after missing the series against India, having been permitted by the ECB to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. He replaces Matt Parkinson in both squads. On the other hand, Jonny Bairstow, who sat out the T20 series with India, is also back in the T20I squad.

Meanwhile, Durham seamer Matthew Potts has received a maiden call-up to the ODI squad after making an impressive debut in England's four Test matches with 18 wickets at 26.72, earlier this summer.

South Africa's tour of England starts with a three-match ODI series on July 19. They will be followed by three T20Is and then an equal number of Tests running until September 12.

ODI squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Craig Overton, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey

T20I squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Richard Gleeson, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, David Willey