Stokes available for England selection, board says
CONTROVERSIAL ALL-ROUNDER READY TO JOIN SQUAD IN NEW ZEALAND
ngland all-rounder Ben Stokes was cleared yesterday to resume his international career while he contests a charge of affray following a violent incident outside a nightclub in September.
Suspended by England while he was under investigation by police, the 26-year-old Stokes is now free to play for his country having been charged by prosecutors with an offence that could lead to a jail term if he is convicted.
With no date set for his court case, the England and Wales Cricket Board said “it would not be fair, reasonable or proportionate for Ben Stokes to remain unavailable for a further indeterminate period.”
Former England captain Michael Atherton said the ECB’s decision “seems illogical” and that “most people would find it hard to square the two positions.”
Stokes, one of the world’s leading cricketers in all formats, missed England’s Ashes series in Australia and the start of the ODI series between the countries because of his provisional suspension by the ECB.
He went to New Zealand for a month to play for Canterbury in domestic limited-overs competitions and was given permission by the England team leadership to enter the draft for the lucrative Indian Premier League at the end of January. He was the costliest player in last year’s IPL — Rising Pune Supergiant paid $2.15 million (Dh7.8 million) for the powerful all-rounder — and ended the competition as its Most Valuable Player.
Stokes was expected to join England’s squad for Twenty20 matches against New Zealand in February, the ECB said.
“ECB fully respects the legal process,” the governing body said in a statement, “and the player’s intention to defend himself against the charge.”
“England selectors, management and players have been informed and Ben Stokes is expected to join the squad in New Zealand for February’s T20 matches.”
Flintoff as coach?
Meanwhile, Andrew Flintoff has revealed he could consider applying to become England coach when the job is open next year.
Trevor Bayliss has announced his intention to step down after the 2019 Ashes series and former England all-rounder Flintoff is pondering a bid to take over.
Flintoff, 40, played a key part in a memorable Ashes win for England in 2005 and says he was so “disgusted” by the state of the national squad a couple of years ago that he sent an email to the England and Wales Cricket Board to make his interest in the position known.
Speaking in the latest episode of BBC Radio 5 live’s podcast Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy, he said once it was established that Peter Moores would be re-applying for the job, his interest cooled.
However, Flintoff would not rule himself out of the running when the top job comes up again.
“I’m talking with my heart, yes [I’ll apply], I want to do it one day… if they want me to do it, I’ll do it,” Flintoff said.
Flintoff, who played 79 Tests for England, revealed how the ECB had taken some convincing his 2014 application was for real.
“I thought you can bang on about it and put players down, or actually do something about it? I thought: ‘do you know what? I’ll have a crack at this’, knowing I probably wouldn’t get the job,” he said.
“You had to apply like you do with any job, so I wrote an email to the lad who was doing the interview process. Two weeks pass. No reply. Three weeks pass, no reply.
“They [ECB] didn’t believe it was my email. I’ve had one email address all my life, and they said they didn’t know it was me.
“We spoke about it and I was serious, but I had to think if I’d be better than the person they’re choosing.”