By Edmund J. Rogers 
Ben Stokes’ impending return to the cricket World Cup should pose a huge challenge for England head coach Matthew Mott.
The reigning world champions suffered a double defeat in their first three games with Stokes sidelined after New Zealand beat them in Ahmedabad before the Afghan underdogs returned home with a 69-point score in Delhi on Sunday.
Test captain Stokes, who suffered a hip issue on the eve of the tournament, is on track to return for Saturday’s must-win match against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, provided he recovers well after intensive training on Thursday.
The likely return of Stokes – which seems almost certain – means that Mott has an important decision on his shoulders as to which player should give up.
Harry Brook kept his place warm and could usually be expected to give up, but the 66-yard “young Yorkshire” easily became England’s best innings against the Afghans and advocated his retention.
Experienced crimper Chris Woakes and all-rounder Sam Curran are both vulnerable after struggling for form so far, but Stokes is currently unavailable for a bowl that only mixes the cards.
“This has yet to be discussed. We will have very good and meaningful conversations over the next 24 hours,” Mott said.
“I think we will sit down as a qualifying group, get the numbers, present some theories. We’re usually going to come up with two or three solutions and then discuss them, so everything is on the table at the moment.”
David Willey and Gus Atkinson are waiting to see if England will decide to kill off Wakes after three unsuccessful outings in a row, but Mott is not ready to give an unambiguous assessment of the long-time leader of the strike.
“In the entire history of Wakes’ career, he has won a lot more than he has missed,” he said.
“He wasn’t in the best condition, and he’s the first one to admit it, but he has a few loans in the bank.”
Mott: Stokes is England’s “spiritual leader”
Mott also revealed how Ben Stokes intervened to rally the dressing room in his role as the team’s “spiritual leader” after their surprising defeat by Afghanistan.
Sunday’s turmoil in Delhi, where a team whose only previous victory at this stage was a narrow victory over Scotland eight years ago, led to Stokes addressing his teammates during a dressing room wrap-up.
“He’s like the spiritual leader of the band in many ways, and he certainly performed very well after yesterday’s game,” Mott said.
“He talked about this need to really express himself, which he is famous for. I said, “I have it,” and just talked, talked about the plan for the next few days, and then Stokesy showed up.
“He really reinforced what was a great message, especially for those who sit on the bench and look at things a little differently. I think it went well, it got us back in control of what we can really control.”
Trust is the key to success
Mott’s own attempt to diagnose England’s problems led him to suggest that the reigning champions were suffering from a lack of self-confidence.
Having become the most bombastic team on the planet during their reinvention as equal world champion under Eoin Morgan, England looked unusually indecisive in their defeats to New Zealand and Afghanistan.
“You don’t lose your abilities overnight, but you can lose confidence in yourself,” he said.
“It’s that confidence… have the courage to go outside and really take part in the game that this team has been famous for for a long time.
“If you think about it, we were a responsive team in these two games, so we need to turn the situation around very quickly.
“It was one of Stokesy’s most important moments – we’re usually a team that dictates terms and gets in the way of the other team, and for some reason we couldn’t do it.
“We’ve always been on the sidelines, trying to get things back on track. What we need to do is dominate these first 15 overs, regardless of whether we win first or play first in the next match.”