World Cup 2023: Ben Stokes ready to make England return for crunch clash against South Africa

Ben Stokes stated he is ready to return for England’s crucial World Cup clash against South Africa having missed first three games of the campaign through injury.

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England’s title defence is in tatters after a shock defeat to Afghanistan left them with a single win from three matches. England had started with a defeat to New Zealand by 9 wickets and were then stunned by Afghanistan by 69 runs. The reigning champions picked a win against Bangladesh by 137 runs.

Test skipper Stokes suffered a hip injury during England’s build-up to the World Cup but has given himself the green light to face the Proteas on Saturday.

Speaking before a training session at the Wankhede Stadium, Stokes told the BBC: “It was a frustrating little niggle to get before the tournament but I have worked very hard to get back to where I am and making myself ready to be available for selection.

“We have had a few days off since the last game and first training session here in Mumbai. I’ll give it a good push but, yes, I think everything is pretty good. I am in a good place.”

Stokes played down the hype surrounding his return.

“I know I am one person in a team sport,” said the 32-year-old, who starred in the 2019 World Cup final.

“No one looks to one person in this team to inspire them or anything like that. It is not the case that if I do come in then all of a sudden we are going to do well. It is just one of those things that gets spoken about a lot but I don’t read too much into it”.

“Everyone that walks out on to that field for England is a match winner and can do something individually that can win us a game. We just need to tone it down a bit on me coming back in.”