Stokes heads home for a white Christmas
CANTERBURY Cricket insist Ben Stokes’ departure has nothing to do with a potential imminent verdict around the suspended English all-rounder.
Stokes flew home to England yesterday after spending the past month playing for his birth province Canterbury and visiting parents, Gerard and Deb, in Christchurch, while waiting for clearance to take part in the Ashes in Australia.
Canterbury Cricket chief executive Jez Curwin said Stokes had decided to return home due to family reasons with his wife Clare and two young children back in England. Stokes was married in October.
The 26-year-old has been barred from playing international cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board ( ECB) for his alleged involvement in a Bristol street brawl in the early hours of September 25. The Crown Prosecution Service have been handled his file, but are yet to release their findings.
‘‘It’s got nothing to do with the legal situation,’’ Curwin said.
‘‘Christmas time, he’s a long way from home and he’s been through a lot. And the reality is he wants to spend Christmas with his wife and two kids, who miss him a huge amount.
‘‘[Pressure and expectation] all builds up and that might be potentially a contributing factor to him going, ‘I miss my family maybe more than I expected’. He’s 26, he’s young isn’t he?’’
Stokes was a controversial signing for Canterbury with his addition dividing public opinion. Former Canterbury captain Peter Fulton, the province’s all-time leader for first class runs (8719) and matches (121) had reservations about the decision to sign Stokes while suspended by his home country’s board.
The star all-rounder was underwhelming in his return to cricket for Canterbury, apart from a 47-ball innings of 93 against the Otago Volts in a Twenty20 Super Smash match at Hagley Oval last Thursday.
He played three Ford Trophy 50-over matches and three T20 outings, appearing in the Kings’ 17-run T20 win over the Central Stags at Rangiora on Friday.
Stokes notched 36 runs from three 50-over matches, while going 1-144 with the ball. He took two wickets in the T20 Super Smash and totalled 133 runs from three innings.
While he hadn’t set the world on fire with his play, Curwin said Stokes had been a tremendous addition for their young playing group and the association.
‘‘From my point of view, he’s been brilliant. Whenever there were kids around the boundary rope, he was always the last one in having done all the autographs. He’s been absolutely fantastic on that side of things. We’d welcome him back with open arms.’’
England tour New Zealand from February to April and Stokes may yet feature on that trip if cleared by the ECB.
He has been provisionally named in England’s ODI squad to face Australia, starting January 14 in Melbourne but that is dependent on his legal situation.
‘‘We had that conversation that if the opportunity arises for him to come back, we’d love it to happen.
‘‘He’s been one of the boys. He’s not stood outside. He’s been involved and incredibly supportive and that’s what you’d expect from a senior player and someone who was vice-captain of England.’’
Curwin spoke positively about Stokes’ impact for cricket in the region.
‘‘We’re very comfortable with the decision and the process we went through to get to the decision of Ben arriving. We’re very comfortable with the time he’s spent here and what he’s brought.
‘‘There were people turning up to Rangiora [for matches] that have never been to games. I looked at the back page of the newspaper [recently] and there was only a two-inch column on the All Blacks. Everything else was about cricket and Canterbury.’’