Aussies ready for Stokes’ arrival
The Ben Stokes saga isn’t weighing heavily on the mind of Darren Lehmann but Australia’s coach will be ready if the allrounder features in the Ashes, as has been widely speculated.
The five-test cricket series starts at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday but the fate of Stokes remains unclear, almost two months after his infamous Bristol brawl that left a man hospitalised with facial injuries.
British newspaper The Telegraph has reported that local police will decide this week whether Stokes will be charged.
Stokes was stood down by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), pending the result of the police investigation.
Murmurings are growing louder that Stokes could receive a two-test ban from England’s cricket board, then return for the Perth test that starts on December 14.
It is a scenario that Lehmann has digested.
‘‘They haven’t got him here, so they can’t miss him,’’ Lehmann noted of Stokes.
‘‘They’ve got their squad that they think can win the Ashes.
‘‘For us it’s more of a case of dealing with the squad they’ve got here.
‘‘He’s obviously a high-quality player. That’s up to them.’’
Lehmann was taking no comfort in the visitors’ indifferent form during their three tour games before the Ashes opener.
‘‘They’ve been solid. They’ve got what they need to,’’ he said.
‘‘You’re just getting prepared and fine tuned for the games ahead.
‘‘They’ve had some good performances, we’ve seen a couple of things we like and hopefully we can play on that a bit.’’