Legendary England batter David Gower heaped massive praise on the English side's Test skipper Ben Stokes, claiming the all-rounder's performances in the longer format have "outshone" former England all-rounder Sir Ian Botham.
Since taking over an England Test team that had won just one of their previous 17 games, Stokes has led England to nine victories in ten games.
He batted a match-winning 135 not out in the third Test at Headingley in 2019 to keep the Ashes alive and playing one of the greatest innings in Test history.
"Ben in some ways has outshone Botham I suppose. The innings [at] Headingley in 2019 is awesome. He changed from stonewall defence to outright offence, it's one-off, but brilliant.
"Then the World Cup final at Lord's hinged on Stokes' innings. An outstanding performance from an outstanding man, though some luck came in their way."
Gower also discussed Stokes' decision to retire from one-day internationals, which the all-rounder announced in July of last year due to the "unsustainable" nature of his current workload.
If England wants to "have a proper go at winning the World Cup again," according to Gower, they need Stokes.
"Everyone would love if Ben plays in the ODI World Cup, someone who is growing up to be a remarkable individual.
"Who would have believed in these events in the last 12 months? He has developed into a magnificent leader and the part [Brendon] McCullum plays works beautifully.
"The way they have transformed the England Test team in a matter of weeks, when he took over, has been just unbelievable. If they want to have a proper go at winning the World Cup again, then the best thing they could do is to persuade him to be part of the team again."
On the other hand, England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler said the defending champions are planning for the ODI World Cup 2023 without Stokes.
"If he wants to change his decision, of course, he'd be welcomed back with open arms but we are very much at the moment planning as if he won't be available," the wicket-keeper batter said.
Earlier, coach Matthew Mott had said that the "door is always open" for Stokes to return to the side.
- Ian Botham