England
England's 2019 World Cup campaign star Ben Stokes thinks that 'it's not arrogant' to say England are a good team and have a good chance to defend their title. The ODI World Cup starts next month on October 5 in India with England starting their title defence on the opening day against New Zealand.
“I don’t think it’s arrogance to say we’re a very good team,” Stokes told The Guardian in a conversation.
The Englishman, who has come out of retirement for the marquee tournament, also said that England are one of the title contenders and they have an edge over other teams in terms of experience of huge games.
“We’re in the mix. And what we now have in our favour, I think, is experience of huge games – an edge against sides who don’t play as many. I know franchise T20 cricket means a lot more players have been exposed to those situations; it’s great for that.
"But it doesn’t come close to wearing your country’s shirt, billions watching, knowing if you lose, you’re out.
So much time has passed but whenever I rock up to Lord’s I remember that day,” Stokes said.
Talking about the 2019 World Cup final where England beat New Zealand on the boundary count after a tied game as well as the super over, Stokes agreed that it was ridiculous.
“Weirdly, I always think back to the six Jimmy Neesham hit during the super over. I was just smiling out there, thinking ‘100 overs, dead level, down to the wire, all the mad things that have happened, what more can this game throw at us?’ It was ridiculous.
“That last ball of the match, the run out, everyone charging on to the field … yeah, it was pretty cool. People think I collapsed with emotion but in fact I just slipped. I thought I managed to style it out quite well.”
Talking about the hosts India, Stokes said that it is the hardest place to win but remained confident of his team's chances.
“It’s the hardest place to win. I’m confident I have the players and will try to make India think differently to how they usually play. But they are a seriously good team,” he said.
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