STOKES ON STANDBY FOR SHOCK ASHES CALL
BEN STOKES could be in line for a dramatic appearance in the Ashes if Avon and Somerset police decide not to charge him over his part in the street brawl two months ago. Stokes would still need to be cleared to play by the ECB’s cricket discipline commission, but Sportsmail understands that any ban will be deemed to have been served retrospectively, clearing the path for his return. that means the final two one-day internationals of the summer against West Indies, when he had a broken finger as a result of the late-night fracas in Bristol, and the first two Ashes tests would constitute the sum of his punishment. the second of those tests starts in Adelaide in the early hours of Saturday morning Uk time, so he would still need to prove his fitness ahead of the third test in Perth, which begins on
Did England think they could just sneak him on to a plane without anyone noticing? did they really believe they could take the first steps towards slipping Ben Stokes back into the Ashes while everyone was looking the other way worrying about Jonny Bairstow’s head-butt?
That is what it looks like. That is why yesterday’s news of England’s suspended talisman travelling to New Zealand to visit family — and play a bit of cricket — came as a complete shock.
Perhaps they should have realised that the sight of one of the most recognisable cricketers in the world lugging his gear through Heathrow might have been a clue. The ECB could hardly expect Stokes to travel incognito when everyone has a camera now. it was all over social media like a rash.
Andrew Strauss had every opportunity to tell everyone on Monday that Stokes was heading to New Zealand, but he did not.
Why, it might even have stopped the media concentrating on how Australia have won the PR battle off the field even more convincingly than the Test on it since the last day in Brisbane. Bairstow’s head- butt would have been forgotten.
instead the first everyone knew about Stokes was when Twitter all but exploded.
So it now looks as if all attempts to take a moral stand and repair the tarnished image of the game have been suddenly forgotten.
This looks like a desperate quick fix. We are looking at another Ashes thrashing in Australia here, lads. Quick, send for Ben and never mind the consequences.
There is no doubt now that there has been a shift of the agenda. The ECB looked sure to take a stand and leave Stokes out of all cricket this winter when those shocking images of that night at the Mbargo Bar in Bristol appeared in The
Sun. He had been warned several times about his behaviour but clearly he had not listened and now had to learn his lesson. So much for that.
This all seems so premature. is Stokes not still the subject of a police investigation?
Should England not wait for the outcome of that inquiry before they rush him to the other side of the world to play for Canterbury?
He is meant to be suspended. does this mean he could play for durham if it were the English summer? does this mean he will gain a No Objection Certificate — permission for him to take part in an overseas domestic tournament — and be able to cash in on the iPL next April as if nothing had happened?
There are no bail conditions for Stokes so he is allowed to leave the country — and did not have to tell police he was travelling — while being under investigation for causing actual bodily harm.
But why the rush? does this mean Stokes is expecting to be cleared any day and has been given the nudge and wink by England that they would very much like him to be part of their undersiege team in time for the third Test in Perth? Surely the next step will be police handing the results of their investigation to the Crown Prosecution Service, who will then decide whether there are grounds to charge Stokes.
There still seems some way to go in the legal process. Make no mistake, England giving their permission for Stokes to play for Canterbury in his native Christchurch on Sunday is the first step towards him being cleared to take on Australia here. it has to be.
if the police clear Stokes then as sure as night follows day he will be on another plane, this time to Perth for the third Test that follows Saturday’s match here in Adelaide.
There is even a two-day warmup in Western Australia first for him to have more practice.
And then the ECB’s ‘independent’ disciplinary commission under Tim O’Gorman will be exposed as simple window dressing. The ECB hierarchy are calling the shots. Not former batsman O’Gorman.
And i for one still think that’s wrong. Yes, i would love England to win the Ashes. And yes, the absence of such a special talent as Stokes has cast a cloud over the whole series and possibly robbed the public of a compelling battle.
i dearly want to see him back in the side. But not yet. The shortterm gain does not justify the long-term pain.
Cricket is desperate to attract a family audience but instead it is labelled with allegations of a drinking culture.
The relationship between cricket and alcohol is a complex one but it is one that could deny the ECB the crowds of families and women it wants when it launches its new Twenty20 competition in 2020.
They were meant to stand firm. But if the next step is clearance for Ben Stokes, it will look as if expediency is more important than doing the right thing.
And i for one would prefer another 5-0 defeat to that.
I don’t care if England lose 5-0, Stokes must not go to Australia