When will Ben Stokes play in the 2023 World Cup?

Cricket News: When will Ben Stokes play in the 2023 World Cup? | Update on Ben Stokes for England in the 2023 CWC

Ben Stokes is set to make his awaited first appearance in the 2023 World Cup in England’s crunch game against South Africa at Mumbai.

England have missed Stokes’ influence and quality so far in the tournament, falling to two defeats in their first three games, including an upset 69-run defeat against Afghanistan. He missed the matches due to a hip complaint, and now England need him to fire right away given they need to win five out of their remaining six matches to stand a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals.

According to ESPNcricinfo’s Matt Roller, Stokes batted twice in the nets at Delhi, soon after Jos Buttler described him as “close” to featuring in against Afghanistan. However, it’s the South Africa game that was the original target for Stokes’ return.

Ben Stokes on target to feature in 2023 World Cup game against South Africa – Matthew Mott

“We’ve obviously been relatively conservative with him, but the medical staff were always confident that South Africa was a game we could target,” said England coach Matthew Mott. “I haven’t had a report on him in the last 24 hours [to Tuesday], but before that, he was on target.”

Mott also spoke of Stokes’ influence on the team. According to the coach, Stokes delivered words of encouragement and motivation following England’s disappointing defeat to Afghanistan at Delhi.

“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,” said Mott.

How England set up their team will be interesting to see. Harry Brook has batted at number four in Stokes’ absence, and he was the only player to offer meaningful resistance against the Afghans. So, England may opt to leave Liam Livingstone out and have Joe Root as the sixth bowling option.

Also, England have concerns around the form of Chris Woakes and Sam Curran. Both have been out of touch, barely firing a shot and conceding 7.50 and 8.07 per over respectively. One may miss out to make room for David Willey or Gus Atkinson, should England look to go with a different option.

England possible XI vs South Africa: 1. Jonny Bairstow, 2. Dawid Malan, 3. Joe Root, 4. Ben Stokes, 5. Harry Brook, 6. Jos Buttler (c & wk), 7. Sam Curran, 8. David Willey/Gus Atkinson, 9. Mark Wood, 10. Adil Rashid, 11. Reece Topley.