After that courtroom furore, now Stokes is set for the Big Bash!
BEN STOKES’S future is being weighed up in Australia as well as England with the authorities Down Under deciding whether to sanction a potential return to the Big Bash this winter. Sydney Sixers have made overtures to the England all-rounder while other franchises with overseas spots open for the 2018-19 season are also known to have been watching his recent court case with interest. But any concrete move by the Sixers, or one of Australia’s other Twenty20 teams, could prove incendiary at a time when national captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner remain sidelined under Cricket Australia-imposed bans following the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa earlier this year. A feeling lingers in Australian circles — among both current players and board members — that the governing body’s decision to throw the book at their leadership group in a bid to change the country’s cricket culture was draconian and that other countries are more lenient about punishments. Indeed, just last week Ricky Ponting, speaking at the MCC’s annual meeting, called for greater consistency across all nations in dealing with those who tarnish the game. Stokes, 27, was unanimously cleared of affray following a seven-day trial in Bristol but still faces a cricket disciplinary probe into whether he brought the game into disrepute. That is unlikely to begin for a matter of weeks though and, in a bid not to pre-empt the outcome of the disciplinary hearing into his conduct and that of England team-mate Alex Hales in Bristol in the early hours of September 25 last year, the ECB will address winter plans if an official approach follows. Sportsmail understands Stokes’s employers would supply a no objection certificate (NOC) for another short stint in Australian domestic cricket, having previously played for Melbourne Renegades in early 2015. Joe Root and Jos Buttler have already been granted NOCs to play for Sydney Thunder. However, the England hierarchy of coach Trevor Bayliss, captains Root and Eoin Morgan, acting director of cricket Andy Flower and national selector Ed Smith will have to consider whether another Twenty20 gig is one assignment too many for their premier all-rounder due to a saturated winter schedule. There are just over three weeks between the end of England’s tour to Sri Lanka and the start of the Big Bash on December 19, and they are scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean on January 11, so they may feel it prudent to tell a player who features so prominently with both bat and ball to put his feet up over Christmas. Restrictions have already been put in place to counter potential fatigue deeper into 2019 — a year which includes a home Ashes and World Cup — with centrally contracted players returning to their Indian Premier League franchises in the spring forced to return home by May 1. In addition to the interest from the Sixers, who have yet to fill either of their two squad places reserved for imports, Hobart Hurricanes and Brisbane Heat remain active in the search for players from abroad. Given the scarcity of quality players available at that time of year and Stokes’s standing as the IPL’s best-paid foreigner, an approach is likely, putting Cricket Australia in the trickiest of positions. It would leave CA needing to authorise the signing at a time when the absence of their own leading cricketers who have transgressed continues to fuel debate.