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Joe Root has seen “good signs” from Ben Stokes as he steps up his recovery from injury ahead of England’s World Cup clash against Afghanistan.
Stokes reversed his ODI retirement to take part in England’s trophy defence but suffered a hip problem on the eve of the tournament and watched the first two games – a nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand and a 137-run win over Bangladesh – from the sidelines.
The 32-year-old has been building up his workloads gradually and completed running and fielding drills at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium before heading to bat in the nets.
Should Stokes return, he would likely slot into the XI at No 4 in place of Harry Brook.
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Sunday 15th October 9:00am
“Ben seems to be getting better day by day, he’s trained really well, he’s had a bat and seems to be improving,” said Root.
“They’re all good signs ahead. As we all know, any team with Ben in it is a lot stronger, but he’s got to be fit to play. We’ll see whether that’s the case [against Afghanistan].”
Soft entry for Stokes into World Cup?
Former England captain, Eoin Morgan, speaking to Sky Sports:
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Eoin Morgan says England should not rush Stokes back into action against Afghanistan if he is not ready
“The biggest thing for that England team is getting Stokes back in action when he is ready and not just for the sake of it.
“This game is certainly an opportunity for Ben to come back into the side with a relatively soft entry into the tournament.
“With the Dharamshala outfield [for the win over Bangladesh on Tuesday] being a little bit heavier, I probably envisage a couple of changes with possibly Chris Woakes and Mark Wood [going out] and an introduction for David Willey and Gus Atkinson.”
Trott: Nothing personal for me facing England
Former England batter Jonathan Trott is Afghanistan’s head coach
Afghanistan – beaten by Bangladesh and India in their opening two matches – are coached by former England batter Jonathan Trott but he says he will not be extra determined to get a result on Sunday.
Trott, who played 68 one-day internationals for England between 2009 and 2013, said: “There’s no extra motivation. It’s just another team that hopefully we can beat.
“There is some sort of familiarity and I find it a pleasure to play against England. So it’s going to be a challenge, for sure, but nothing personal.
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Highlights from England’s 137-run victory over Bangladesh at the Cricket World Cup as Dawid Malan scored 140 and Reece Topley took four wickets
“There’s no sort of agendas or anything like that, it’s just another cricket match and that’s what I try and express to the guys.
“At a World Cup you know there’s lots of sort of distractions around and emotions that could you know come into play but it is going to be exciting and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Don’t miss England vs Afghanistan live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 9am on Sunday (first ball at 9.30am). You can also stream the game with NOW.
Follow the game across skysports.com and the Sky Sports App with a live text blog and video clips.
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