‘It's great to have a group that…’ - Jonny Bairstow speaks on England’s title defence in 2023 ODI World Cup

The England Cricket Board (ECB) already announced the provisional squad for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup on 16 August. Interestingly, they brought back Ben Stokes to the squad as he returned back from his ODI retirement. They won the ODI World Cup in 2019 after defeating New Zealand in a dramatic manner.

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So, this year they will look to defend their title while on 5 October, they are scheduled to begin their World Cup campaign at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad against the Kiwis. Now, while speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Jonny Bairstow opened up on Engalnd’s title defence as he lauded the group of players also.

"It is going to be good fun.” - Jonny Bairstow

He said: "We'll rock up to Cardiff and see all the lads: it'll be just like normal. It's great to have a group that have got a wealth of experience coming back together. Naturally, there'll be conversations around, 'well, you're not playing much 50-over cricket together' and all this stuff. But the guys have been playing Test cricket or T20 cricket and to have the skillset to play both of those is a skillset that you're able to take both parts of into 50-over cricket. It can throw different bits at you."

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The England international also claimed that the mega event is going to be great fun for them. "It is going to be good fun. I don't think there's too much worry about cohesion, or people not having played together for two, six, 12, 18 months - whatever it may be. I don't think that's too much of a worry when the group has played together for seven or eight years. It's one of those where you just fit back and you slot back into your roles," Jonny Bairstow concluded. The 2019 ODI World Cup title was their first World Cup and since then, they have played 36 ODIs so far. From 9 September, they are scheduled to play a four-match ODI series against the Kiwis at home.