EYES ONE-DAYERS AS HALES IS IN THE CLEAR

BEn STOKES and Alex Hales could be provisionally named in England’s squad for the one- day series in Australia which starts on January 14.

Hales’s suspension was officially lifted by the ECB after it emerged he was no longer a suspect in the Bristol brawl.

Stokes remains under suspension for his part in the incident outside Mbargo nightclub in the early hours of September 25, although he recently signed as Canterbury’s overseas player in new Zealand, and played his first game for them on Sunday.

His selection for the five- match ODI series is contingent on the Crown Prosecution Service deciding he has no case to answer, despite Avon and Somerset police asking the CPS for ‘charging advice’.

The squad is set to be named at the conclusion of the second Ashes Test in Bat in the frame: Alex Hales can play for England again Adelaide, and barring a decision from the CPS in the next day or two, England could include both players — as revealed by MailOnline.

An ECB statement said the decision over notts opener Hales, 28, had been reached ‘after being informed that he is deemed a witness and will face no charges’.

It added: ‘The independent Cricket Discipline Commission has stayed the internal disciplinary process for both Alex Hales and Ben Stokes until the conclusion of any potential criminal proceedings relating to the incident.’

neither man has played for England since the third ODI against West Indies in Bristol on September 24, with Stokes suffering a broken finger during a fight that left a 27- year- old man with a fractured eye socket.

Speculation that his trip to new Zealand was a precursor to a surprise appearance in the Ashes looks to have been premature, but there is now an outside chance that he could appear in Australia after all, followed by England’s tour of his native new Zealand.