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England are ready to kick off their World Cup defence with a rerun of their 2019 final victory against New Zealand, but returning hero Ben Stokes has emerged as an injury doubt for the opening game.<\/p>\n
The lure of repeating the tournament triumph of four years ago was enough to draw Stokes out of ODI retirement after a year away from the format, but he may be confined to a watching brief in Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n
While England fans will be glad to hear there are no signs of his long-term knee problems flaring up, skipper Jos Buttler revealed the 32-year-old has been struggling with soreness in his left hip in recent days.<\/p>\n
He was the only member of the 15-strong squad not to play some part in this week\u2019s warm-up win over Bangladesh, meaning he has not featured since scoring a new national record of 182 against the Black Caps on September 13.<\/p>\n
Stokes joined his team-mates for their final training session under lights at the Narendra Modi Stadium \u2013 which is not expected to fill even half of its gargantuan 132,000 capacity \u2013 but was little more than a bystander.<\/p>\n
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He spent some time in the indoor gym but did not bat. Given the lengthy nature of the competition, which spans nine group games over six weeks, it seems highly unlikely that England would gamble with their prized asset at such an early stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got a slight niggle with his hip, but fingers crossed that it\u2019ll be good news for us. We\u2019ll see,\u201d said Buttler.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll make the right call. If he\u2019s not fit to play, he\u2019s not fit to play. It\u2019s not the time to take big risks on someone at the start of the tournament. Nearer the end, maybe you do take more of a risk with people\u2019s injuries but it\u2019s going to be a long tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buttler is looking to repeat the career-defining achievement of his predecessor Eoin Morgan by lifting the trophy, but distanced himself from the notion of a title \u2018defence\u2019.<\/p>\n
For a side who have rebuilt their entire philosophy around an aggressive mindset, it is a term he is more than happy to banish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see us as defending champions. We\u2019re not defending anything. I want us to attack so I don\u2019t like the word defending,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us it\u2019s irrelevant. It certainly is for me. It\u2019s fantastic to be reigning champions and I won\u2019t say we\u2019ve left that behind completely because it\u2019s a nice place to be, but you\u2019ve given that trophy back now. It\u2019s done.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s about trying to create something new. There\u2019s always a desire for more, a hunger for more. We wouldn\u2019t be here if we were content with what we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stokes\u2019 likely absence could open the way for Harry Brook to make his World Cup debut, a remarkable shift in fortunes for a player who was omitted from the original squad only to edge out Jason Roy at the eleventh hour.<\/p>\n