ENG vs BAN: "Ben Stokes Is Not The Only One To Score Runs"- Jos Buttler's Bold Claims After Poor Start To World Cup Campaign

The England Vs New Zealand match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, saw the absence of England’s star player, Ben Stokes. Despite having announced his retirement from One Day International (ODI) cricket previously, Stokes made a return to the England team for the World Cup.

Ben Stokes’ presence was crucial, as he had been England’s second-highest run-scorer in the ODI series against New Zealand leading up to the World Cup, amassing 235 runs, including an impressive 182-run inning. He announced his retirement from the ODIs in 2022, as he wanted to focus on other formats.

Unfortunately, just before the opening fixture, Stokes experienced a hip niggle. In an effort to safeguard their talismanic player, the England cricket team decided to rest him for the initial game, even though his absence was a substantial setback. In the first match, Harry Brook took Stokes’ place in the playing XI.

England managed to post a total of 282 runs, which was deemed subpar by many standards. New Zealand went on to win the match by nine wickets, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra delivering outstanding centuries and dismantling England’s bowlers.

Ben Stokes Is A Top Player, Says Jos Buttler

According to Buttler, as reported by Reuters, England is not overly reliant on Stokes, despite the loss to New Zealand. Buttler expressed his belief that the batsmen failed to make significant contributions during the match. He also voiced his support for the players in the squad, despite the heavy defeat to New Zealand.

Buttler stated, “I think Ben’s a top player, but we’ve got many top players in our team. I think everyone in the team got into double figures, but we didn’t have enough players who could carry on and make substantial contributions. It’s not only Ben who has the ability to score runs in our squad. We have exceptional players throughout our roster.”

England will play their next match against Bangladesh on 10th October in Dharamshala. The conditions in Dharamshala are similar to what they have in England, so the England Team will look to capitalize on those friendly conditions and hopefully get the win against Bangladesh. Ben Stokes might be there in the playing XI but if he is not, then the other players need to step up and perform.