England’s Ben Stokes is set to make a return to the Cricket World Cup, and his impact on the team has been noteworthy in various crisis situations in the past. Stokes played crucial roles in England’s victories in the 2019 Cricket World Cup final, the 2019 Ashes Test at Headingley, and the 2022 T20 World Cup final when England was in challenging situations. His return is highly anticipated for the upcoming match against South Africa in Mumbai.
Stokes missed the previous matches in the tournament due to a hip injury he sustained in the gym. His presence in the team is expected to provide a much-needed boost, not only with his bat and in the field but also through his leadership and force of personality.
However, Stokes will not be contributing with the ball in this tournament due to a chronic left knee issue. This presents a challenge for England’s captain, Jos Buttler, in terms of balancing the side.
One possible replacement would be to bring in Stokes for middle-order batsman Harry Brook. Still, Brook was one of the few players who performed well in the previous match against Afghanistan, scoring 66 runs as England fell short in their chase of 285 runs.
It’s unlikely that England will make any changes to the top five in the batting lineup, which featured Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, and captain Buttler. However, Liam Livingstone, who had a subpar performance batting at No. 6 and fell cheaply, could be considered as a candidate to be dropped from the playing XI.