World Cup 2023: Ben Stokes likely miss opening match against New Zealand
Stokes also didn’t feature in England’s warm up game vs Bangladesh in Guwahati on Monday due to a hip injury after their first warm up game vs India got washed out
Crickate
Ben Stokes is liable to miss the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opening match between England and New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India. According to England captain Jos Buttler, Stokes has a minor hip injury ahead of the opening match of the World Cup.
"His hip is giving him a little trouble. We are hopeful that it will be positive news for us. He is putting in a lot of effort with the physios, and we'll have more information when the men arrive for training today. ESPNCricinfo quoted England captain Jos Buttler as saying, "We'll make the right decision: if he's not fit to play, he's not fit to play."
Notably, Stokes also did not play in England's second warm-up match against Bangladesh on Monday in Guwahati due to a hip injury, after their first warm-up match against India was rained out. Buttler stated that he is unwilling to take significant risks early on in the tournament.
"We can make that determination if he is. At the beginning of the tournament, it is unwise to take significant risks. Buttler added, "You may take a greater risk with people's injuries as the tournament progresses, but it will be a long tournament."
Harry Brook will most likely replace Stokes.
Stokes recently returned to One-Day Internationals after announcing his retirement in July 2022. The 32-year-old made a comeback for the annals, scoring the highest individual score ever recorded by an England batsman in ODIs. With 15 fours and nine sixes, Stokes played a magnificent innings of 182 (124), scoring a total of 124 runs.
He concluded as the second highest run-scorer of the series having scored 235 runs from three innings at an average of 78.33 and a strike rate of 115.76 with one hundred and one fifty to his name.
The all-rounder will presumably be replaced by young batting sensation Harry Brook, who batted in his position during the warm-up match.
