No. Desperate move that is morally wrong

Canterbury should not be airing England’s dirty laundry. And there’s no other way to describe the messy Stokes affair and how cricket in New Zealand has suddenly been dragged into it.

If England aren’t prepared to have Stokes playing for them, I struggle to see why Canterbury should have put out the welcome mat to a player still under police investigation following a street brawl in Bristol.

I understand the ‘‘innocent until proven guilty’’ theory but there’s no consistency here in cricket circles.

If there was, Stokes would be in Australia playing for England in the Ashes series.

And to suggest that isn’t the ultimate goal here, is making a mockery of Kiwi hospitality.

Is it any coincidence that Stokes flies out to New Zealand with a stack of cricket gear to visit his parents in Christchurch in the immediate aftermath of England being pummelled in the opening test in Brisbane?

Of course not. A 10-wicket defeat at The Gabba set off alarm bells back in London to the reality that the Ashes won’t be retained Down Under without the services of the star allrounder. If England can get him involved any way they can, they will. Desperate times call for desperate measures and this reeks of desperation.

Canterbury are nothing more than a convenient way of achieving that end goal – having Stokes get back into his cricketing groove within touching distance of the big battle across the Tasman.

Of course there are rewards for Canterbury if they want to operate with soiled goods. There’s the old Christchurch connection, though why New Zealanders constantly try to retain some links to a Kiwi who left as a 12-year-old to become an English player is bemusing.

Stokes might put a few bums on seats at Rangiora on Sunday but that isn’t worth the shadow that comes with it.

Especially not when just last week local batsman Ken Mcclure stood down from his rep duties as he pleaded guilty to a charge of injuring with reckless disregard, after an assault on a man in Hanmer Springs in September on a pre-season trip for his club team. He has been remanded for sentencing until January 19 and won’t play for Canterbury till that has been sorted by the courts.

‘‘We expect a certain level of behaviour on and off the pitch from everyone that represents us,’’ noted Canterbury Cricket chief executive Jez Curwin.

So the next week they court a cricketer who has been involved in the highest-profile incident outside of the game this year.

There’s a moral argument involved here and what is unfolding is sending everyone, including Stokes, the wrong message.

He’s being seen as so good at cricket he’s indispensable despite questionable off-field behaviour.

Stokes may well be proven innocent of his alleged involvement. But anyone who has watched the video of the incident should be left feeling uncomfortable.

It’s disappointing cricket bosses in Canterbury and at higher levels in the game here don’t feel that way.

‘‘[Stokes] is being seen as so good at cricket he’s indispensable despite questionable offfield behaviour.’’ Duncan Johnstone