Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer will be reserved spots in England’s T20 World Cup squad if fit… as Matthew Mott hints side aiming for series win over West Indies won’t change too much

Matthew Mott has confirmed that most of the England team attempting a comeback in the Caribbean on Thursday will return here next June, with Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer the only outsiders guaranteed a place in the World Cup squad to have.

The series decider against the West Indies is also the final Twenty20 match before the selectors choose the 15 players to defend their title, starting with four warm-up matches against Pakistan in late May.

Mott, whose side are battling to a 3-2 win from two behind, confirmed it was a given that all-rounder Stokes, who saw England over the line in last year's final victory over Pakistan in Melbourne, and fast bowler Archer would bowl away . -ins if appropriate.

“Ben, apart from his incredible ability to win matches in every department, the fact is that the ability to have a bowler in the top six gives you so many options in terms of your team balance,” Mott said.

'You often have to give something up. When you win, everyone says, 'Oh, they did well.' If you lose, it's: 'They were short a bowler or short a spinner.'

There is also a World Cup place for Jofra Archer if he overcomes his injury woes

England coach Matthew Mott in the Caribbean, where the team hopes to beat the West Indies 3-2

“If you have a bowler in your top six, the selection becomes a lot easier. So that's a given. Every team in the world wants someone like that and that's rare.

“As far as Jofra is concerned, you just have absolute box-office pace, a change of pace and an innings bowl over. Flip your super, flip your last. He on the park is huge, everyone will agree.'

Stokes is said to be recovering well from knee surgery which he hopes will see him take his place in the England attack in the first half of 2024, while the ECB are currently assessing how to accommodate Archer's need for match action following his latest elbow rehabilitation.

His program for the new year should become clearer before Christmas.

Mott continued: “We've always said that with this series we're getting pretty close to the edge we're looking for. Why else would they be here?'

England have brought in a new opening pairing of captain Jos Buttler and the in-form Phil Salt, and have been impressed by the selfless attitude of Will Jacks at number three, dashing any hopes Dawid Malan had of a swan song at a major tournament drilled into. could also be bad news for Jonny Bairstow.

“Clearly Salty has made an undeniable case there; Jos is one of the greatest of all time,” Mott said.

England have come from two down to level the best-of-five series 2-2 ahead of the decider

England's Jos Buttler hits a hit during the fourth T20 in Tarouba this weekend

“So how we get to that top six or seven will be interesting. But this series has prepared us well and has been an invaluable experience for us, whether we win it or not.

“We'll walk away with a lot of lessons and we'll be a much better team for it. I feel like we have a really good advantage being here at this time of year.”

Mark Wood, who like Malan missed the 2022 final due to injury concerns, will be given serious consideration but the lack of slower variations to complement his extreme pace could set him back here, where batsmen push themselves to play with the same deliver speed.

Meanwhile, the experiment of handing over the wicketkeeper's gloves to Salt for the fourth match of five here – giving Buttler a different perspective on the captaincy and Salt's international experience behind the stumps, given that he is likely to be deputy gloveman will be at the World Cup – can be viewed again. .

However, Mott confirmed that Buttler would continue to keep wicket in crunch games at the tournament.