England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes is set to miss ENG vs BAN World Cup match scheduled on Tuesday, October 8. Stokes, who is recovering from a hip injury, had a light net session but looked a little uncomfortable while running which has raised doubts about his fitness. Notably, the 32-year-old missed out tournament’s opener against New Zealand due to hip discomfort.
Another reason behind resting Ben Stokes for BAN vs ENG could be the sandy outfield of HPCA Stadium in Dharmsala which has been a topic of concern among teams. On Saturday, Afghanistan’s Mujeeb-ul-Rehman avoided a serious injury after his knee got stuck during diving.
Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott criticised the surface after their defeat by Bangladesh on Saturday.
“We’re lucky Mujeeb hasn’t got a serious knee injury,” the former England batter said.
The International Cricket Council’s head of events Chris Tetley and pitch consultant Andy Atkinson visited HPCA Stadium and inspected the outfield on Sunday.
There are bare, sandy patches throughout the playing area.
“The process for assessing the condition of the pitch and outfield lies with the match officials and the outfield at Dharamshala was rated as average after the Afghanistan v Bangladesh match.
“Additionally, the ICC independent pitch consultant has taken a look at the outfield today and is comfortable with the conditions as is Javagal Srinath, the match referee for the next game”, an ICC Spokesperson said.
England Squad for World Cup 2023: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
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