Have worked hard to make myself available for selection: Stokes

Ahead of England’s all-important clash against South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday (October 21), English all-rounder Ben Stokes has deemed himself ‘fit and available’. The all-rounder, who had a niggle heading into the competition, was not part of the England XI in their three clashes thus far in the competition. 

England would be bolstered by Stokes’ presence in the XI, with the Three Lions losing two out of the three contests thus far in the ODI World Cup. England skipper Jos Buttler insisted that Stokes was so close to being available for selection in their loss against Afghanistan earlier in Delhi. 

"[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."

Stokes reckoned that England is bound to lose games and insisted that it is all about dealing with such losses quickly and moving on. 

"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.," Stokes said. 

“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,” he added.

South Africa also head into the clash against England after a stunning loss at the hands of the Netherlands side. But the conditions will be starkly different, with the 2023 ODI World Cup heading to Wankhede, a place that will always be etched in the hearts of the Indian fans. 

"We would love to get our second win here. South Africa have been performing really well so far and are a good team. It is exciting as well being at the Wankhede, the first game there [of the World Cup]. It is generally a nice place to bat in particular. Hopefully, it can be one of those games for us where we go out and click."