Ahead of the ENG vs SA clash on October 21 at the Wankhede Stadium, England head coach Matthew Mott has provided their fans with an ecstatic update. England, who are currently struggling in the ODI World Cup 2023, may see their ‘savior’ Ben Stokes make a return to the playing XI.
Stokes who was England’s highest run-scoring in the 2019 World Cup Final, has not yet played a game in the event. Due to his absence, the defending champions have lost to New Zealand and Afghanistan in their first three games.
Talking about Stokes’ fitness and his potential return for the ENG vs SA match, Mott said: “We’ve obviously been relatively conservative with him, but the medical staff were always confident that South Africa was a game we could target. I haven’t had a report on him in the last 24 hours, but before that, he was on target.
“So fingers crossed, he can tick off all the things that need to be ticked off, and he comes back into that side. He’s like the spiritual leader of the group in many ways, and he certainly spoke really well after the game the other day and spoke about that need to really assert ourselves,” the coach added, highlighting Ben Stokes’ importance and influence on the squad.
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Matthew Mott on their poor start
While talking about their poor start and how they looking ahead with 6 games still left, Mott said, “The effort is important and I think that’s there, the boys are trying really hard.
But we’re probably missing that confidence to puff your chest out, go out there and really take the game on, which this team has been renowned for over a long period of time. You don’t lose your ability overnight, but you can lose your confidence.
“We pride ourselves on putting the opposition under pressure and on reflection we’ve been the reactive team in those two games, we need to turn that round really quickly,” Mott added.
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