Ben Stokes reveals surgery plans after cricket World Cup finishes
England have one last chance to restore some pride in their Cricket World Cup campaign, and make a push for a place in the top eight, when they take on the old enemy Australia in Ahmedabad.
Jos Buttler’s side have fallen far short of all expectations surrounding the defending champions when they took off for India at the start of October, having recorded just one win from their six matches so far at the tournament.
Ben Stokes, who came out of retirement to help the team defend their title, admitted on the eve of the Australia match that England have been ‘crap’, and it is a statement that is hard to argue with.
England have one big opportunity against Pat Cummins’ side to restore some pride to the side, especially after the Australia captain could barely suppress laughter when asked about Buttler’s side’s fortunes at the end of October.
Follow all the live action in the blog below and get tips and a betting preview here:
England vs Australia
- Ben Stokes admitted England have been ‘crap’ in the tournament
- The toss will take place at 8am GMT (1.30pm local time)
Show latest update
England vs Australia
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s live blog covering the Cricket World Cup match between England and Australia.
Talk has been swirling around since the Ashes finished, about the ‘moral Ashes’, the word ‘Bazball’ being added to the Collins English Dictionary, and endless discussions over Jonny Bairstow’s run out at Lord’s.
This time however the contest looks far less evenly matches. Australia have won four of their six matches, while England hold just one solitary victory over Bangladesh and are rooted to the foot of the table.
Can England restore some semblance of pride and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy?
Sonia Twigg3 November 2023 11:31