I don’t care if England lose 5-0, Stokes must not go to Australia

ANDREW STRAUSS made the first right move yesterday in the damaging aftermath of the Bristol brawl by suspending Ben Stokes and alex Hales but now he has to go much further. neither should play in australia this winter.

there is no need for england’s supremo to wait and see whether Stokes will face criminal charges nor even try to discover the extent of Hales’ involvement. we have seen enough. the video that emerged of the ugly, shocking scenes outside the Mbargo club in the early hours of Monday is a game changer.

really, there can be no excuses for the 15 punches Stokes apparently aims at two often retreating men and there is no excuse either for the kick Hales appears to aim at one of them despite his later attempt at making peace.

It is claimed by some that Stokes was reacting in defence of two gay men who were subjected to homophobic abuse at what appears to be a nasty student hang-out that no international sportsman should go anywhere near.

and there was support yesterday from former england players Graeme Swann and Matt Prior who suggested Stokes was the subject of severe provocation by one of the men who is clearly holding a bottle.

But we can only go on what we have seen and the 60 seconds or so of footage seemingly recorded by someone in a nearby flat and passed on to The Sun are damning in the extreme for Stokes and the reputation of the england team.

this is the biggest test yet for Strauss and it is one he must pass by showing a clear, decisive example. Stokes should be suspended from the ashes and Hales should miss the one- day series in australia that follows in January. there is a case, too, for Strauss and the ECB discipline commission, chaired by former derbyshire batsman tim O’Gorman, to go further and rule out Stokes for the tour of his native new Zealand that follows. It is that serious.

and england should make absolutely sure the centrallycontracted Stokes should play no part in either the Big Bash in australia in december nor earn the mega-bucks that await him in next year’s Indian Premier League.

then england’s talisman, a cricketer adored by his team-mates and coach trevor Bayliss and one of the games greatest all-rounders in the making, can come back next summer with the slate clean.

Yes, england will have next to no hope of winning the ashes this winter without Stokes but frankly it does not matter even if they lose 5-0 again. How else is Stokes going to change?

we have heard him repeatedly say he will learn, that he will grow up, after each of the off- field scrapes with authority that have littered his otherwise stellar career. But he hasn’t, has he? not when the video shows him clearly out of control while launching a frenzied attack on a man who has ended up in hospital.

there is no way Stokes, Hales and any other england player should have been there in the first place. alas, one of the most closeknit of all england teams have abused the trust of Strauss and, in particular, Bayliss, who treat them like adults and urge them to take responsibility.

the other players out late on Sunday may not have broken any rules but they have to look at themselves too because the next game was barely more than 48 hours away. why on earth could they not wait for the end of the one-day series to go out?

Sportsmail revealed on tuesday that Stokes was out late during the Old trafford test against South africa this season and had been warned by his highly respected advisor neil Fairbrother not to end up on the front pages like wayne rooney.

Stokes clearly has not listened and that is why he must face severe cricketing punishment now even if the Crown Prosecution Service decide not to bring charges of actual bodily harm.

If he does not learn now then he is going to throw away what is so close to becoming one of the greatest and hugely well rewarded of all careers.

It is all very well apologising and being said to be devastated by what has happened but Stokes has to do more than that now. He has to sort himself out before it is too late and england have to show him that it is now or never.