ODI World Cup 2023: Star England player likely to make comeback in England’s upcoming match against South Africa

Ben Stokes is expected to recover in time for England’s 2023 World Cup match against South Africa on October 21, having sat out the initial three games of the tournament due to a hip injury. Despite making a comeback to the ODI set-up before the World Cup, following his retirement from the format last year, Stokes hasn’t participated in any of England’s first three matches. The all-rounder has been sidelined due to a hip issue, watching from the sidelines as his team faced defeats against New Zealand and Afghanistan.

For England to enhance their chances of reaching the semi-finals in the World Cup, they must secure victories in five out of their last six games. The potential return of Ben Stokes, who aimed to make a comeback in the match against South Africa, could provide a boost. The Test captain had taken part in batting sessions in Delhi before the Afghanistan game. Despite being described as “close” to playing by Jos Buttler, Stokes ultimately did not feature in the playing XI for that match.

England’s head coach Matthew Mott has given an update on Stokes, saying they are “confident” he would play against the Proteas. “We’ve obviously been relatively conservative with him, but the medical staff were always confident that South Africa was a game we could target. I haven’t had a report on him in the last 24 hours, but before that, he was on target,” Mott said on Tuesday.

Stokes also motivated the team after Afghanistan’s defeat

After the defeat to Afghanistan, Stokes addressed his teammates, urging them to adopt a more aggressive approach in the upcoming matches. This isn’t the first time he has taken on such a role; following the loss to Ireland in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Stokes had also spoken to the team. Subsequently, England went on to win four consecutive games, culminating in victory in the final.

“So fingers crossed, he can tick off all the things that need to be ticked off and he comes back into that side. He’s like the spiritual leader of the group in many ways, and he certainly spoke really well after the game the other day and spoke about that need to really assert ourselves,” the head coach added.

Since making his debut in 2011, Ben Stokes, who played a pivotal role in the 2019 World Cup final, has amassed 3,159 runs at an average of 40.50 and claimed 74 wickets in 108 ODIs.