It took 1hr 42min to pick him after the ruling . . . why such speedy blinkered self-interest?

They could not even let the dust settle before they rushed Ben Stokes back into the england squad for the third Test with indecent haste.

even by the eCB’s standards this is a weak and utterly pathetic decision.

Just one hour and 42 minutes after the verdict — as Stokes stood on the steps of Bristol Crown Court to talk about his ‘ordeal’ and how much it had cost him — it was announced that he would be reporting for duty at Nottingham tomorrow. Astonishing.

No suggestion of regret, you notice. No acknowledgement that he could be in any way responsible for the events that have tarnished the game and his own reputation. It has all been somebody else’s fault, clearly.

What’s the rush? Why not take advantage of the fact that a winning team do not need changing at Trent Bridge on Saturday to keep Stokes out of the spotlight until the cricket discipline commission has heard his case?

As it is, the game will again stand accused of blinkered self-interest, of not taking discipline seriously enough and of completely ignoring the fact that the game’s image was dragged through the gutter at Bristol.

Stokes may have been found not guilty of affray by a jury but it seems to me he has very likely brought the game into disrepute for what happened on that sorry night outside the Mbargo club and that should have been recognised by the eCB.

What should have happened now is what should have happened when Stokes was charged with a criminal offence. he should not have been allowed to represent his country until the legal ANd disciplinary process was complete.

Only when the independent panel, chaired by Tim O’Gorman, have decided on the fate of Stokes and Alex hales and the players have served any sentence imposed should they be allowed to pull on an england shirt again.

The eCB got it absolutely right when they left Stokes out of the Ashes — although they are bending over backwards now to insist he was not suspended — but they erred in bringing him back to play in New Zealand earlier this year.

Since then he has been drifting, a shadow of his usual self until that very last morning of the first Test against India at edgbaston when he imposed the sheer force of his personality in a positive fashion to drag his team over the line.

It is all down to player power and the possibility of restraint of trade, of course. The eCB are petrified that Stokes could have a legal case against them if he is left out now so they will not stand up and do what is right.

Notice, too, that we are now being told it could take weeks for the disciplinary commission to convene.

When Joe Root was pushing for Stokes to be rushed into the Ashes we were told they would meet within 48 hours of the verdict of the courts. It suited the eCB to be quick then. It does not now.

Australians will be laughing their heads off at the old enemy. either that or they will be able, rightly, to take the moral high ground — which is even worse. Australia took a stand against bad behaviour when they imposed harsh punishments on Steve Smith and david Warner for presiding over a toxic team culture.

The issues may be different but the eCB should have had the courage of their Australian counterparts and done the right thing — at least until O’Gorman’s commission have had their say.

If they decide Stokes has already paid a sufficient price by missing the Ashes then, fair enough, back he comes.

Instead, we have this highly unsatisfactory situation — again — of a player in disciplinary limbo

and still under a cloud being able to take the field and influence the outcome of a Test series.

The selectors should not be blamed. Nor should captain Root and coach Trevor Bayliss. If Stokes is available then they are dutybound to pick their best team.

It was up to the board and their chairman, Colin Graves, to stand up and be counted now, not abdicate responsibility by handing over the decision to a ‘wide range’ of senior figures within the governing body. They should have blocked his selection.

Now Stokes is in the squad he has to play. There is little point in creating another circus and not picking him. So now a player who does not deserve to miss out almost certainly will. And that probably means you, Sam Curran.

I remember seeing Stokes playing with his young son round the swimming pool of the team hotel in Cape Town the day after his extraordinary double century against South Africa two years ago. I thought then: ‘There is no limit to what you can achieve in this game. You will go on to be a great.’

That is very much in the balance now. And it will stay in the balance if Stokes, and those around him, remain in denial about his part in the shame of that night at Mbargo. It was nobody else’s fault that he became involved in a punch-up while out far later than any professional sportsman should be while on international duty. It was all down to him.

If anything good is to come from this sorry saga it is to be hoped that, deep down, Stokes knows he has wasted a year of his career when in his prime and cleans up his act from now on. The early signs are not good.