Rain disrupts England’s opener

BEN Stokes’ return to action has been delayed after the opening day of England’s warm-up match against England Lions in Brisbane was cut short due to rain.

Stokes has been included in England’s Ashes squad after taking an indefinite break from all cricket in July to prioritise his mental wellbeing and rest a finger, which he had fractured.

England openers Haseeb Hameed (53 not out) and Rory Burns (39 not out) had taken England to 98 without loss before play was halted early in the second session in Wellington Point.

Durham all-rounder Stokes, set to bat at five, made his last England appearance in a one-day international against Pakistan in July.

England’s Ashes squad members who were involved in the T20 World Cup have not been included in the warm-up match and will stay in quarantine for one more week.

The first Ashes Test at the Gabba starts on December 8 and the fifth and final Test is scheduled for Perth’s Optus Stadium on January 14.

Meanwhile, A commission looking at racism and other forms of discrimination in cricket has been “inundated” with more than 2,000 responses in the fortnight since it opened a call for evidence, its chair has said.

The sport has been engulfed in a racism scandal following Azeem Rafiq’s harrowing testimony to a parliamentary committee last week, outlining the racist abuse he was subjected to during two spells at Yorkshire.

“More than 2,000 people across the country have come forward to share their experiences both through the survey and also by directly reaching out to the ICEC,” Cindy Butts said.