Root & Co. ready for the Ashes

London, Oct. 27: England captain Joe Root said Friday his side were prepared to be without star all-rounder Ben Stokes for the whole of their upcoming Ashes tour of Australia.

Stokes, England's vicecaptain, will not fly out with the rest of the squad on Saturday, having been suspended from international duty following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September.

The Durham ace remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.

Stokes and England are still waiting to discover if he will face criminal charges.

The England and Wales Cricket Board have yet to rule him out of the fiveTest series, which starts in Brisbane on November 23, but he is not currently available for selection.

“We've got to make sure we plan and prepare as a squad and look to approach it as if this is our team going out there for the tour,” Root told reporters at Lord's on Friday.

Ashes-holders England have yet to name a replacement vice-captain but Root said there was no need to rush that decision.

“We will have to sit down and chat about that,” said the Yorkshire batsman. “It's something that's ongoing and over the course of the next few weeks we'll come to a decision.”

Meanwhile Root added neither he nor anyone else in the England hierarchy had received any indication as to whether Stokes would face criminal charges.

“To be brutally honest, I am in exactly the same position as you,” he said.