"Ben Stokes came out of retirement only to see his side being knocked out of group stages"- Fans react after England star's failure vs South Africa

England's star player Ben Stokes faced the wrath of fans after his dismal batting performance in the 2023 World Cup match against South Africa on Saturday (October 21).

He scored only five runs from eight balls before departing in the ninth over of the chase of 400 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. England went on to suffer a thumping 229-run defeat against a rampaging South African side.

It was a comeback match for Ben Stokes, as he missed the first three matches of the English team in the World Cup due to a fitness issue.

The all-rounder had taken retirement from ODI cricket last year. However, he took a U-turn and made himself available for selection ahead of the series against New Zealand in September.

Stokes returned to the format in style with record-breaking innings in the third ODI of the series by hitting 182 runs. It was the highest individual ODI score for an English batter.

England team management hoped that his return would bolster and add solidity to their middle order during the World Cup. However, things did not go as planned, with Stokes being unavailable for selection for their first three games in the tournament. They suffered two losses and won one match in his absence. He returned to action on Saturday against South Africa.

The Proteas batted first and notched up a mammoth total of 399/7. England got off to a poor start in the chase as both openers and Joe Root walked back to the pavilion inside six overs without much contributions.

The onus was then on Ben Stokes to rescue England from the precarious situation. Stokes failed to do the job and departed in the ninth over for 5(8) after giving a return catch to Kagiso Rabada. England surrendered meekly after that by bundling out for 170 in just 22 overs.

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Fans slam England selectors for bringing in half-fit Ben Stokes for the World Cup

Fans took note of Ben Stokes's failure in his first match of the 2023 World Cup and reacted on X (formerly Twitter). Here are some of the top reactions:

England are now ninth in the ODI World Cup 2023 table, just above Afghanistan. They will next take on Sri Lanka at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on October 26.