Michael Atherton says Chris Woakes and Sam Curran are "vulnerable" with Ben Stokes set to return to the England side against South Africa after injury - watch the game live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 9am on Saturday (9.30am first ball)
Friday 20 October 2023 15:29, UK
Big games call for big players and they don't come much bigger than Ben Stokes.
He is not just a man for a crisis. He is the man for a crisis.
2019 Cricket World Cup final? Tick. 2019 Ashes Test at Headingley? Check. 2022 T20 World Cup final? Same again.
In all three of those games, England were at best tottering and at worst practically beaten but won each of them thanks to crucial innings from Stokes.
The 32-year-old lifted the ODI side with his words following their 69-run defeat to Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday, speaking in the dressing room, reminding the team of the need to impose themselves with bat and ball after a second loss in three matches.
Now he will be looking to do the same with his actions when he makes his first appearance of the tournament against South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday after missing the nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand, 137-run victory over Bangladesh and humbling by Afghanistan due to a hip niggle sustained in the gym.
"It's great to see him back, he adds a lot of value," England captain Jos Buttler said of Stokes on the eve of the game against the Proteas, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 9am (first ball at 9.30am).
"He obviously brings a lot on the field and with his presence and leadership skills as well as someone who is always good to turn to."
A fully fit Ben Stokes obviously does strengthen the England team. He is an X-factor player, he's the guy that can change the course of the game. We know we are going to have to be on top of our game to get him unstuck. There's a lot of respect for him, we know what he can do.
Stokes' impact will have to come with bat, in the field and through his sheer force of personality as it will not come with the ball.
The Test captain is not bowling in this tournament as he continues to manage a chronic left knee issue. It means balancing the England side is not an easy task for Buttler.
The like-for-like switch would be to bring Stokes in for fellow middle-order man Harry Brook - but Brook was the only batter to come out of the Afghanistan defeat with any credit, top-scoring with 66 as England were bundled out for 215 chasing 285.
England are unlikely to axe anyone else from the top five that featured against Afghanistan - Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, and captain Buttler - but Liam Livingstone, who fell cheaply batting at No 6, could be a candidate to drop out.
Livingstone has been quiet with the bat since making back-to-back half-centuries in the ODI series win at home to New Zealand in September, recording scores of 11, 28, seven, 20, nought and 10.
However, his ability to bowl off-spin and leg-spin makes him a valuable part of the side, with his 1-33 from 10 overs against Afghanistan following figures of 1-13 from three against Bangladesh.
I would have Livingstone at No 7. That is more for his bowling than the way he has been batting but this Mumbai ground could be very flat and very quick-scoring. If you back Livingstone, he could do something special here."
Livingstone might not only keep his place against South Africa but move from sixth bowler to fifth bowler, with Sam Curran and Chris Woakes seemingly at risk after abysmal starts to the World Cup.
Curran has combined figures of 2-140 from 17.2 overs, going at in excess of eight runs an over. Woakes has fared only marginally better, with his 18 overs creamed for 135 at a rate of 7.50.
Woakes has taken just two wickets in total and been flogged for 95 runs from the 11 overs has bowled in the first powerplay, allowing opposition teams to get off to rollicking starts.
He knows he's not performing quite how he would like to at the minute and that's frustrating but there's no judgment from our side as we always back all our players. We picked them for a number of reasons. One is because they're high-class players and Chris is certainly one of those.
Sky Sports Cricket expert Michael Atherton said: "Do England play Livingstone at No 7 as one of five bowlers with Root as the sixth bowler or do they pick two out-and-out-bowlers alongside Reece Topley, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood?
"The form of Woakes and Curran is a real concern, they are both very vulnerable. Curran has been expensive in the middle overs and Woakes in the powerplay, leaving England chasing the game."
Atherton's fellow Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain said: "I would play Brook and have Livingstone at No 7.
"Then I would pick your best bowlers - Topley, Wood, Rashid - plus your next best bowler after that, either David Willey or Gus Atkinson.
"Willey could swing it in this humidity but I would like to have a look at Atkinson's firepower."
England captain Buttler said at his pre-match press conference: "I've got so many options within the squad selection.
"It is always tough - you're working out the right balance and it is always venue-dependent as well. We have had a good chance to see the wicket and gather a bit more information."
Whatever combination of players Buttler plumps for, a victory is vital for England.
Defeat may not be terminal - they lost three group games at the 2019 World Cup and still made the knockout stages - but it would leave them with little margin for error with red-hot favourites India, plus Australia and Pakistan still to play.
Their top six is very strong and I think pace with the ball is one of their strengths. You always expect a tough challenge when you play against South Africa and it's going to be a brilliant game.
Buttler said: "We had a few days to let the [Afghanistan] defeat sink in and we've had some good conversations about how we want to play our cricket, how we want to commit to the style that we play. That's always more important than the results.
"We know we won't always win but if we can stick to the way that we like to play and get the best version of that, we know that that's the best chance that we have of getting the positive results.
"We want to put the opposition under pressure [but] that doesn't always mean hitting fours and sixes.
"It means can we push back when the opposition is on top or can we really take the initiative in different ways? That's what we want to live by as a team."
Sky Sports Cricket's Nasser Hussain added: "England need to get on a winning roll and they need to play better cricket.
"When they lost three games in the middle in 2019, they had been playing excellent, consistent cricket. This England side have been up and down but there is so much quality and resilience and they have to show that against South Africa.
"Everyone will be saying 'go harder' but I just hope there is a bit of smartness in there as well. That is what Stokes adds."
Watch England vs South Africa live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 9am on Saturday (first ball at 9.30am). You can also stream the game with NOW.
Follow the match across skysports.com and the Sky Sports App with a live over-by-over text blog and in-game video clips.
