'Ben Stokes will bat at number four position in T20 World Cup' - Head Coach Matthew Mott gives clarity regarding star all-rounder's role

 England's  white-ball Head Coach Matthew Mott has said that star all-rounder Ben Stokes will bat at the number four position in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. The senior player was rested for the recently concluded seven-match T20I series against Pakistan. 

Mott also said that Stokes will be joined by the talented batter Harry Brooks who had numerous excellent outings against the Men in Green recently. The coach also talked about the availability of their express pacer Mark Wood. 

Stokes has not had a clear role in the squad: Matthew Mott

"One of the things that's been said for a while is that he hasn't had a clear role. And Jos (Buttler) in particular is clear that he's a top-four player. Those conditions in Australia will suit the way he plays. You always have a bit of flexibility with the batting but he will be expected to be higher in the innings," said Mott.

Mott seemed pretty content with Brook's performance during the recent T20I series against Pakistan and admitted that the youngster has made a strong case for himself regarding finding a place in the playing XI during the T20 World Cup.

"He'd have to go pretty close, I think. It depends on what balance we go with - whether we go with an extra batter or an extra all-rounder. But he couldn't have done any more to push his case in this series," Mott added.

Speaking about Wood, Mott said that he is an X-factor bowler and the team management does not wish to take any risks with him.

"We probably talked him out of playing, to be honest. He always wants to play but we didn't want to take that risk. He's one of those bowlers, the X-factor bowler. A bit like Jos, he could maybe have played the back end of the series but those two guys are hard to replace so we're trying to box a bit smarter and not take the risk on what is going to be a long campaign," said Mott.

As mentioned above, the Three Lions recently defeated the home team Pakistan in a seven-match T20I series and they will soon be traveling to Australia to participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup.