Stokes a doubt for England World Cup opener

England vs New Zealand - 1st Match, Ahmedabad

Match facts
England vs New Zealand - 1st Match
October 05, 08:30 GMT (2pm IST)

Ahmedabad: Ben Stokes is a doubt for England's World Cup opener against New Zealand on Thursday because of a hip issue.

Captain Jos Buttler played down the new issue on Wednesday but England are unlikely to take a risk on Stokes at the start of a seven-week tournament.

England's Test captain, 32, came out of retirement for the defence of their 50-over world title despite his long-running knee injury.

If Stokes is not fit, batter Harry Brook, who was only called up as a late change for Jason Roy, is the obvious replacement.

England trained at the cavernous 130,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday evening - the venue of the tournament curtain-raiser a day later.

Stokes did not take part, emerging for 30 minutes to watch his team-mates go through warm-ups and fielding drills.

Brook had a long net session, with Stokes instead spending time in the gym.

England completed a 3-1 ODI series win over New Zealand less than three weeks ago but in entirely different conditions, with temperatures forecast to reach 35 degrees on Thursday.

New Zealand have their own injury issues.

Captain Kane Williamson is not yet fit after rupturing knee ligaments in March and bowler Tim Southee is sidelined after surgery on a dislocated thumb.

But they have a superb record in recent tournaments, having also reached the 2015 50-over World Cup final, plus two semi-finals and a final in the past three T20 World Cups.

Teams from:

England Squad: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Harry Brook, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley, David Willey

New Zealand Squad: Devon Conway, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham