Stokes: It's an all-round call on my future

ENGLAND'S SUPERSTAR SAYS HE HAS OPTED TO MISS DEFENCE OF T20 WORLD CUP AS HE BIDS TO BUILD UP FITNESS

- MikeWalters

BEN STOKES' latest hokey-pokey has left England in a hole after their white-ball talisman ruled himself out of the Twenty20 World Cup in June.

In an unexpected twist, Stokes has made himself unavailable for the tournament to prioritise rekindling his role as a front-line bowler in the Test side this summer and revert to being "the all-rounder I want to be."

When he was put on the spot last month, following England's 4-1 Test series defeat in India, about the prospects of him going to the World T20 in the Caribbean and United States, he replied: "I've not even thought about it but I'm available."