World Cup: England receive boost as champion Ben Stokes declared fit for crucial South Africa clash

After missing out on all action in World Cup 2023 with a left hip injury, champion player Ben Stokes will return to contention for selection for the crucial South Africa clash in Mumbai. England captain Jos Buttler declared him ‘almost fit’ ahead of the Afghanistan CWC match in Delhi, but upon regaining full fitness, Stokes will resume batting in nets to push for a case in the XI.

A 2019 World Cup winner with England, Stokes, unretired from the ODIs earlier this year to remain available for the marquee event. After his record-breaking 182 against New Zealand at the Oval in September, Stokes is out of action since and even sat out of England’s first three CWC games, wherein they lost two of them.

Stokes will participate in the practice sessions on Thursday evening and Friday morning.

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Speaking to the BBC about his preparations ahead of a crucial game against South Africa, Stokes admitted to being frustrated with the timing of the injury.

But on the flip side, he seemed excited for his first game of this campaign, saying he worked hard to be here.

"[It was] a frustrating little niggle to get before the tournament starts," Stokes told BBC on Thursday. "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 the first training session here in Mumbai. [I will] give it a good push but, yes, I think everything is pretty good. I am in a good place,” the star all-rounder added.

‘Still a long way to go'

Given their stance on the points table, England found itself in a tricky situation considering sealing the semis berth.

However, Stokes believes there's a lot of cricket left in the tournament, and England can make a comeback.

"We are only three games into a tournament," Stokes said. "There is still a long way to go. It [the loss to Afghanistan] was disappointing in the moment, but at the end of the day, we have lost a game of cricket in a World Cup.

“Everyone is going to lose games, and it's one of those things we had to deal with quickly, understand that we didn't perform well but move on, and understand we have a lot more cricket left to play,” Stokes added.

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