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However Stokes chose to spin it, his "put two and two together" comments were ambiguous at best and clumsy at worst.

On Wednesday, the eve of the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, Stokes appeared to hint Bethell would come back for the series against India later in the summer by saying: "You put two and two together, you probably know what's going to happen."

I said put two and two together and he comes back into the squad.

"If you're smart enough, the series that Beth had out in NZ, obviously he's going to be back in the UK for that India series. So, I think you put two and two together, you probably know what's going to happen."

Speaking after a three-day victory over Zimbabwe was completed, Stokes told Test Match Special: "I personally felt that it was a bit of a, not a vendetta, but I got asked a simple question about Bethell, said put two and two together he comes back into the squad, and then all of a sudden it turns into something that suits the agenda of the time."