Far be it for Australian audiences then to believe that he is in town to play for the Melbourne Renegades, only because he couldn't break into England's 15-man World Cup squad.

It is even more unfathomable when considering that England endured an awful year of one-day cricket in 2014, by the end of which they had cast aside captain Alastair Cook.

But Stokes has not been able to replicate the form from the Ashes. His paltry offerings during last month's one-day series in Sri Lanka - in which he went wicketless and made just 22 runs - was the final straw that led to him being left out of the group.

And so Stokes - jet lag and all - found himself at the Junction Oval on Monday, training with his new Renegades teammates ahead of their trip to Hobart for a Wednesday night date with the Hurricanes.

For Stokes, a last-minute replacement for injured Kiwi all-rounder Jesse Ryder, it was a case of making the best of a less-than-ideal situation.

"Once I found out I wasn't with the World Cup team, I just messaged my manager asking if there were any opportunities coming up. Then on the same day he got back to me and said the Renegades were pretty keen. Some bad news turned to some good news," Stokes said.

If the 2011 World Cup is anything to go by, though, Stokes' chances of playing in the six-week tournament should still be alive. Injury and illness led to England making five changes to their group prior to and during that event, and as such Stokes has fair incentive to perform during his stay in Australia.

"Who knows? I hope no one does get injured because I wouldn't want to be drafted into the team for that reason, but at least I'll be out here for a month before the World Cup starts. It'll be a good chance to acclimatise.

"If the call does come, I'll try and do a little bit better than Sri Lanka."

Last summer's individual success in this country has given the all-rounder confidence.

"It did go pretty well personally, so hopefully I can try and replicate some of the success I had there and try and do a bit better on a team level. It'd be nice to try and win a game in Australia as we didn't do too well last time I was here, but really looking forward to it."

Stokes, 23, landed in Melbourne on Saturday night, just as the Melbourne Stars were completing their skittling of the Renegades, who scored a Big Bash League record-low of just 57 runs at Etihad Stadium.

The 1-3 Renegades know that their campaign will be all but over should they not return from the Apple Isle with a win, but Stokes believes his new team can turn things around rapidly from the weekend's embarrassment.

"Anything can happen in Twenty20 cricket. You can go out two days from that and could get 200," he said.