Stokes case may be set for December

England are keen to avoid Stokes going home for a tribunal halfway through tour

Ben Stokes’s disciplinary case is likely to be held in December to avoid clashing with England’s tour to Sri Lanka.

Stokes and Alex Hales are waiting to hear what charges they will face from the England and Wales Cricket Board’s cricket discipline commission for their role in a street fight in Bristol last September.

Stokes was cleared of affray at Bristol Crown Court last month, while Hales was never charged by police, but next week the ECB is expected to announce a timetable for its own disciplinary process.

It is understood that there will not be time to start it before the announcement of England’s one-day squad for the tour to Sri Lanka, which is due to be named in the next couple of weeks. Stokes will be a part of both white-ball and Test squads.

England fly to Sri Lanka on around Sept 28, days after the end of the county season. They play five ODIS and three Tests in Sri Lanka, with the tour ending on Nov 24.

England are keen to avoid the disruption of Stokes having to go home to face a tribunal halfway through what will be a demanding tour to Sri Lanka. Instead, they would prefer the hearing to take place in the six weeks between England arriving home from Colombo and flying to the West Indies for the second leg of the winter in early January.

The commission is independent of the ECB and could ignore England’s wishes and sit in October.