England all-rounder Ben Stokes believes this World Cup is not only an opportunity for his country to reign supreme at the quadrennial event for the very first time but also a chance for him to contribute towards it and gain redemption having gone through a lot in his career already. 

"It's a massive occasion for us as players and as a nation. The support has been brilliant. I had a few days off and got out of the bubble. But when you come back to the team you get those butterflies again," Stokes was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. 

Stokes was provisionally suspended following a late-night outburst and fight outside a club in Bristol in 2017 and subsequently missed England's full tour of Australia before finally being cleared of all charges of affray. 

"I don't feel like I have to prove anything to anyone except myself. It opened my eyes up to a lot of things, two years ago, but I don't have to prove anything to anyone," he added. 

"It's just showing I can deliver on the biggest stage. Winning is the most important thing and if you can help the team out with an individual performance, that's all that counts. People can say good things, bad things ... it just won't bother me."

Stokes has once again been integral to England's balance this World Cup. He has scored 381 runs at 54.42, including four half-centuries, besides scalping seven wickets at a very fine economy rate of 4.65. 

"The thing I have been most happy with has been my bowling. It's always nice to get runs but the most pleasing thing has been my bowling. I had a chat with Morgs and a few others in the team to get my head around my role."

"Being the fourth or fifth seamer, I sometimes put too much pressure on myself to influence the game. So I spoke to them about not trying to take wickets every ball - it was a clear plan to go at five or six an over and I might get a wicket doing that - that's helped offer the team more. In the last couple of years it's probably where I have let the team down."

Stokes will now step on the field for arguably the biggest game of his career on Thursday (July 11) when England takes on arch-rivals Australia in the second semi-final in Birmingham. 

"Playing against Australia is a big occasion - in any sport. Losing to them at Lord's was massively disappointing, so I think there will be a bit of redemption for that, knowing we have the chance to beat them and get to the final," he said. 

"When our careers end we'll be able to look back and say we have played with the world's best, got to number one but more importantly, played with a good bunch of people."

"I'm not sure many other teams would be able to say that, but I believe this team is the best at what they do - and we're trying to build a path for many years to come. This is what England stand for and how we want to play," Stokes concluded.