Stokes signs for club amid Ashes talk

SUSPENDED England allrounder Ben Stokes signed with New Zealand provincial side Canterbury yesterday, fuelling speculation he is preparing for a dramatic Ashes call-up.

The 26-year-old inked a deal just a day after arriving in the country for a trip English cricket officials initially had said was simply a family visit.

Canterbury said in a statement that Stokes had signed as the team’s overseas player and would be eligible for a one-day match against Otago on Sunday.

“While Ben awaits the outcome of an investigation underway in the UK, he wants to maintain his fitness and his connection with the game,” coach Gary Stead said.

Canterbury Chief Executive Jez Curwin played down any link to Stokes’s Ashes ambitions.

“The Ashes series is an obvious connection, however that has not been a consideration for us or

Ben at this time, he is just keen to be able to work again,” he said

Stokes is currently banned from international cricket while British authorities probe his alleged involvement in a late-night fight outside a Bristol nightclub.

Detectives handling the investigation said in the UK late on Wednesday that they had handed the file to prosecutors for “charging advice”.

They gave no indication of how long that might take.