Stokes coy on future after 'rubbish' World Cup

England Test captain Ben Stokes has remained coy over his future in the ODI format after reversing his retirement decision to play in the World Cup.

The side's campaign has been a disaster and they'll likely finish seventh depending on the result of Sunday night's match between India and the Netherlands. England came into the World Cup as defending champions.

After his side's win against Pakistan in their final match, Stokes was asked whether he wanted to be part of England's rebuild in the 50-over format but wasn't able to give a definitive answer. 

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"It goes back to my initial reason for stepping away from this format, [it] was just through workload," he said.

"I'm Test captain, got a lot of stuff coming up, there's a lot of stuff that I want to do with that Test team and that'll be a decision that probably I'll have to think about quite hard.

"But who knows where everything is? I've got a bit of a clean-out coming up so you never know, the body might be in a lot better position than it was in the last 18 months."

The all-rounder – who failed to bowl a single ball in the World Cup – will return home to England and undergo surgery on his left knee.

From there, it'll be a waiting game to see if he's fit to tour India with the Test side in January. 

Stokes, who reversed his one-day retirement to take part in the World Cup, will undergo surgery on his left knee once he returns home. He was hopeful of being fit to tour India with England's Test side in January.

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"I should do," he said about touring.

"I've put a lot of hard work in away from cricket to give myself the best chance of a quicker recovery and, with Christmas and everything coming up, the main thing for me is getting this knee right and being ready and raring to go for that Test series in India."

England finished its World Cup campaign with two wins, beating the Netherlands and Pakistan, however it did little to overshadow what had been a shocking performance.

At one point, the side looked like it might miss out on Champions Trophy qualification with the top eight making it through from the World Cup.

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When describing the series as "very disappointing", Stokes was unable to pinpoint the reason why they had performed in such a manner. 

"I've said it quite a few times when I've constantly been asked what's gone wrong, can you put your finger on it? No. We've just been, I'll rephrase it, we've been a bit rubbish," he said.

"Ourselves in the dressing room, people outside, will obviously be frustrated. We're flabbergasted as to why things have gone the way that they have gone. But look, if anyone could have the answer to situations that a team like us found ourselves in from eight weeks ago they'd be an absolute genius.

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"It's obviously just going to be very frustrating to look back on and just going to be one of those things that, as professional athletes and professional sportsmen, we're going to have to get over because there's always something else around the corner, there's always something else to play for. There's always another big tournament to play in and something that I've lived my career by is you're only as good as the next game, which manages to keep you very, very level through success or failure.

"Success is brilliant, but failure as well can also be an unbelievable thing to give people experience, especially young people who are trying to make their way in international cricket. Our senior players are very frustrated and the younger guys trying to make their way will be very frustrated with how things have gone. But through failures and frustration, that can also take you to the next level just as much as success can."

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