STUMBLING DOCK
Setback for Stokes as court date set for same day as his England comeback
BEN STOKES has been warned he must fight for his place in the England team – if and when he returns to the squad.
New doubt has been cast over when he will be available for selection after his first court appearance on an affray charge in Bristol was set for February 13. That is the same day he hopes to play for England again in a T20 clash against New Zealand in Wellington.
If, as he has indicated, he plans to contest the charge, he can ask the court for a ‘not guilty’ plea to be entered in his absence.
But the ECB are not booking flights for the all-rounder while things remain unclear.
England coach Trevor Bayliss has offered him no guarantee he will be picked even if he is available for selection.
And he may not hold on to the England vice-captaincy in the Test team either, with James Anderson ready to continue in that role.
“It’ll be a difficult decision as to who he replaces,” said Bayliss.
“The other thing is – is he up to speed and will he be right, in a good enough space to make it back into the team? Having not played for so long.
“If we play well in these next four games and we win it might be very, very difficult for him to come straight back in. We will have to chat about the vicecaptaincy too. Jimmy did a good job and we will make that choice down the line.”
Stokes will continue to be a leader even if he does not have an official title and Bayliss is looking forward to him taking on the opposition in his combative style.
England have missed his hard edge this winter, with his actions having far-reaching consequences for his teammates, something Bayliss reckons he regrets. But there will be nothing but support from team-mates when he finally rejoins the white-ball squad as Jos Buttler revealed.
“We’re a tight group of guys,” said Buttler. “And a lot of us will have an arm round his shoulder, not that he will need it, but we’ll fully support him and look forward to seeing some amazing performances from him back on the pitch.
“Any team in the world is a lot better for having him in it.”