England all-rounder Ben Stokes revealed that he thought his ODI World Cup campaign was all over when he injured himself ahead of the opening clash against New Zealand. Ben Stokes, who came out of ODI retirement returned to the World Cup squad but could not take the field due to his hip discomfort and is likely to make it into the playing 11 for the game against South Africa.
The defending champions will be under extreme pressure to win their remaining games to advance to the ODI World Cup’s final four after the Jos Buttler-led side was shocked by Afghanistan in their third match and the arrival of the experienced Ben Stokes in the team would help them to get their title defence back on track in the marquee event.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game against Proteas, Ben Stokes said that the injured did not look good initially but was happy to be back in the team and raring to go for the crucial South Africa game.
The England all-rounder promised to use his knowledge to assist Jos Buttler and team management in the remaining games of the marquee event.
“When I initially did it, I thought I was done, because it’s not good hearing a pop. Thankfully, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as what we initially thought… we got a programme in place straight away and it went really well. I’m here now, physically being available for selection, so it’s pretty good,” Ben Stokes said.
“Jos and Motty have got a lot on their shoulders with it being a World Cup, I try and help out as much as I can without stepping on Jos and Motty’s toes in terms of how they want to lead this group. I know that people do listen when I talk. I don’t try and speak too much but I try and speak when I feel it’s the right time,” Ben Stokes further said.
The 32-year-old has been the biggest match-winner for England in the last few years producing some memorable knocks for his team in ICC events. Ben Stokes would be a key batter for England in the middle order alongside Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and Liam Livingstone going into the game against South Africa on Saturday.
We Want To Go Out And Show The Opposition What England Is – Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes wants their team to play an aggressive brand of cricket even though the result might not be in their favour in the game and does not want to be more timid in their approach. The 32-year-old wants the England side to be at their absolute best going forward in the tournament.
“I don’t care if we lose: I want us to go out there and play in the way we talk about. If we’re going to go down, let’s go down doing what we’re known for. Let’s not be timid, be restricted in what we want to do,” he added.
“We want to go out and show the opposition what England is and what we’ve been known for… it’s just reminding ourselves about what we do best as a group of players: to always be on top of the opposition, and always make the plays, and make them be the reactive team, as opposed to us,” Ben Stokes further added.
England’s ODI World Cup campaign has been a mixed bag, with them being outplayed in the opening game against New Zealand followed by an emphatic win over Bangladesh.
In the most shocking defeat, the defending champions were outplayed by Afghanistan in their third match and they would keen to turn things around quickly when they take on South Africa to put themselves in the best position to make it into the final four of the marquee event
Meanwhile, South Africa made a good start with a record-breaking victory over Sri Lanka, followed it up with a convincing win over five-time champions Australia, before crumbling under the intensity and passion of the Netherlands.
The Proteas would wish to swiftly forget that loss since it would have brought to mind their long history of dismal World Cup performances.
