UPHILL FLIGHT

With prosecutors now deciding Stokes’ fate his surprise trip to New Zealand to see his folks could be the closest he gets to Ashes action

BEN STOKES arrived Down Under this week to much fanfare and anticipation.

But it seems Canterbury, New Zealand, may be as close to Australia as he is likely to get this winter.

England players and the Barmy Army were anxious to welcome the all-rounder back into the fold, especially after their humiliating defeat in the first Test.

But as the tourists prepare for the second Test here amid the circus of the Ashes, the latest update from Avon and Somerset Police makes it clear there is a much more sombre world beyond the Adelaide Oval.

What happened during a street brawl in Bristol on September 25 when “a 27-year-old man suffered a fractured eye socket in the incident” does not make for good reading as far as Stokes or English cricket is concerned.

Perhaps it was the passing of time that did it or perhaps it was the effect of a 10-wicket defeat with claims of a ‘head butt’ between players.

Maybe it was even the brazen 12,000-mile flight taken by Stokes to New Zealand, where his parents live, that convinced so many that his appearance in the Third Test, which starts in Perth on December 14, was more of a formality than a possibility.

Then there were the players ready to greet Stokes with ‘open arms’ if he could be available to help them take on those chippy Aussies.

This was all the fun of the Ashes, as if it was the only thing that mattered rather than the events that followed the ODI in Bristol, when four men clashed in the streets with one of them suffering a nasty injury.

The court of public opinion has been split by the incident, but over recent weeks as the Ashes tour has got up and running, the momentum for a Stokes return sooner rather than later has gathered pace. And the capitulation in Brisbane only added to that clamour for the all-rounder to be England’s Ashes saviour.

But Director of England Cricket Andrew Strauss and the ECB have been firm in insisting that although Stokes is suspended on full pay, they will take no decisions until they know the outcome of the police investigation and potential court case.

It could take weeks for the CPS to offer their ‘charging advice’ and in that time the ECB’s position is unlikely to change.

So while many fans want to see Stokes back in an England shirt, it is worth remembering that if he had not been out at 2.35am visiting a Bristol club in the middle of a series he would have been out in the middle at The Gabba playing his part.