Mitch Stokes Ashes threat

ENGLAND can win the Ashes without Ben Stokes, insists former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.

Stokes was arrested last month on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm following an incident near a Bristol nightclub and will not travel when England head Down Under this weekend to begin their Ashes defence.

Johnson said: “If you’re Australia, you don’t want to be thinking they can’t win because Stokes isn’t there – that can bite you on the backside pretty quickly. At a contest at that high level, anyone can win.”