Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India]: Star all-rounder Ben Stokes confirmed that he is fit to play England’s crucial ICC Cricket World Cup clash against South Africa.
England will take on South Africa on Saturday.
Though England bounced back after a nine-wicket loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener with a win over Bangladesh, they succumbed to Afghanistan in Delhi in a shocker.
South Africa also had started off well with wins against Sri Lanka and Australia, but became victims of an upset against Netherlands, who had made it to the tournament through qualifiers.
Stokes did not feature in the first three matches of the side due to a hip niggle. He had come out of ODI retirement to help England defend the title. Stokes being in playing eleven will no doubt be a boost for England.
Stokes said that it was frustrating to face a niggle before the tournament started.
“It was a frustrating little niggle to get before the tournament starts. But I have worked very hard to get back to where I am and making myself ready to be available for selection,” said Stokes as quoted by ESPNCricinfo to BBC.
Stokes said that he is currently in a “good place”.
“We have had a few days off since the last game and the first training session here in Mumbai. [I will] give it a good push but, yes, I think everything is pretty good. I am in a good place,” said Stokes.
Stokes said that England has a long way to go into the tournament and the team has to deal with its losses quickly since it will happen to everyone.
“We are only three games into a tournament. There is still a long way to go. It [the loss to Afghanistan] was disappointing at the moment, but at the end of the day, we have lost a game of cricket in a World Cup.
Everyone is going to lose games and it’s one of those things we had to deal with quickly, understand that we did not perform well but move on, and understand we have a lot more cricket left to play,” said Stokes.
Most of the English players have been joined by their partners and children. The team had two full days off after arriving in Mumbai. Stokes said that this little off has given them a great chance to recharge their batteries.
“It has been a good chance to rest and get fired up and ready for the game against South Africa. The families have arrived now which has been really good for some people. We have been out here for three or four weeks, so it’s been a good chance to recharge our batteries,” said Stokes.
Stokes said that the team would like to register their second win at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, where they are excited to be.
“We would love to get our second win here. South Africa have been performing really well so far and are a good team. It is exciting as well being at the Wankhede, the first game there [of the World Cup]. It is generally a nice place to bat in particular.
Hopefully, it can be one of those games for us where we go out and click,” said Stokes.
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.
