In a potential big blow to England, Ben Stokes might miss the ODI World Cup 2023 opener against New Zealand on October 5, Thursday. England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes has bit of a niggle in the hip, confirmed skipper Jos Buttler. However the final decision will be taken after the practice session on Wednesday, October 4.
In a press conference on Wednesday (October 4), Buttler played down the concerns: “We will see how everyone pulls up, we’ve been nursing a few guys over the last month or so. Hopefully, we’ll have a clean bill of health to pick from… He [Stokes] doesn’t play many of them [warm-up games]. He’s got a slight niggle in his hip but fingers crossed that it will be good news for us."
“Just to clarify he’s got a slight niggle… we’ll know more when the guys arrive at training today. I think that we’ll make the right call with him. If he’s not fit to play then he’s not fit to play, and if he is then we can make that decision but it’s not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Nearer the end maybe you would take more of a risk with injuries but it’s going to be a long tournament. We’ll see how the guys pull up at training today and post-training we’ll make our decisions,” he added.
Stokes has been known for his struggle with a problematic knee that prevents him from bowling, but currently, he's been plagued with a hip issue. The all-rounder was given a break for the warm-up match against India in Guwahati, a game that eventually saw no action due to rain.
Additionally, Stokes was absent from the team that secured a victory over Bangladesh by four wickets in the following warm-up game on Monday, October 2.
Recently, Stokes, who revoked his ODI retirement ahead of World Cup, set a new record for England's highest individual ODI score against New Zealand in a bilateral series held in England earlier this month. Batting at the fourth position, he scored an impressive 182 from 124 deliveries, outdoing the previous record set by Jason Roy.
If Stokes is unavailable to feature in the opener, England have multiple alternatives in their team. Harry Brook was recently added to their 15-member squad as an additional batter. Alternatively, the pairing of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone in the 5th and 6th positions might also be considered.
England's squad for the ODI World Cup 2023: Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
ODI Rankings: Babar Azam's No.1 spot in danger as Shubman Gill narrows the gap
ODI World Cup 2023: India arrive in Chennai sans skipper Rohit Sharma as opening match vs Australia draws closer
