'Any team that has Ben Stokes is a better team' - Ollie Pope on prospects of England all-rounder playing World Cup 2023

The much-awaited ICC Cricket World Cup is set to be contested in India in October-November. The curtain-raiser will be played between defending champions England and New Zealand on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

England received a major boost with reports emerging of Ben Stokes deciding to come back from ODI retirement to play in the ICC global event. Matthew Mott, England's white-ball coach, stated that the Test skipper's participation will be the one thing everyone is looking up to.

“Jos Buttler will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us. We will see if he’s keen,” Mott told Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, commenting on the speculations, England batter Ollie Pope stated that Stokes is the one player that any team is lucky to have. He hopes that the star all-rounder will enjoy an amazing tournament if he plays.

“Ben Stokes is someone who loves playing for England. He’s a player that any England team is lucky to have in its side. Obviously he has his knee (issues), it’s no secret that he has been trying to manage that. It’s great for him that he feels he’s in a place where he can go and have a big contribution in a tournament like the World Cup. Any team that has a Ben Stokes is a better team. If these rumours are true, I think he’s going to have an amazing tournament," Pope said.

I guess Stokes' is happy with how he went in the Ashes: Pope

Pope went on to say that he believes Stokes was happy with England's performance in the 2023 Ashes series. The 25-year-old also believes everyone can see Stokes playing in the ODI World Cup this year.

“I guess he’s happy with how he went in the Ashes. I know he didn’t bowl as many overs as he has in the past. But I’m sure he’ll be talking with Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott and talking about managing his workload. I think with the way the schedule is going there’s no Test cricket until the start of January so it does give him a good chance to recover. Hopefully he’s got a lot more years of playing. It’s a World Cup, another opportunity to write history,” he added.