Ben Stokes Doubtful For Cricket World Cup 2023 Opener With Hip Injury

England star Ben Stokes could miss the World Cup opener against New Zealand due to a hip injury with captain Jos Buttler admitting Wednesday "it's not the time to take risks". Defending champions England and the Black Caps will begin the 10-nation, 45-day showpiece tournament at Ahmedabad's 132,000-capacity stadium on Thursday. "He (Stokes) has got a slight niggle in his hip.

Fingers crossed that it'll be good news for us," Buttler told reporters. "He is working hard with the physios and we'll know more when the guys arrive for training today. We'll make the right call: if he's not fit to play, he's not fit to play. He added: "It's not the time to take big risks at the start of the tournament. It's going to be a long tournament."

The 32-year-old Stokes was selected for the World Cup as a specialist batsman after a long-standing knee injury ruled out his role as a bowler.