WC 2023: Ben Stokes declares himself available for South Africa clash

The star all-rounder Ben Stokes is set to return during England's World Cup 2023 game against South Africa on October 21. Stokes missed England's opening three games due to a sore hip but has declared himself fully fit to return during his team's next game in Mumbai.

Stokes smashed 182 runs against New Zealand in the third ODI game to show his worth but suffered a minor hip injury before the World Cup. He was tipped to make a return during England's last game against Afghanistan in Delhi but was not able to recover on time.

The 32-year-old star landed in Mumbai for the team's next game against South Africa and participated in the training session as well. He declared himself fit to make a return and said he would give a good push on his comeback.

"[It was] a frustrating little niggle to get before the tournament starts," Stokes told BBC. "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."

England suffered a shock defeat against Afghanistan and are under pressure to take a chance on Stokes. The red-ball team captain said that the team was disappointed to lose against Afghanistan but the camp has moved on and is looking to the next challenge. 

"We are only three games into a tournament. 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.

England World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.