STOKES DELAY GIVES MALAN ODI CHANCE

BEN STOKES will be replaced by Dawid Malan in England’s one-day squad in Australia as they concede their talisman almost certainly won’t make the trip.

The delay on a decision as to whether or not Stokes (above, right) will be charged for his part in a Bristol brawl back in September has left the all-rounder in limbo.

And with the ECB suspending Stokes pending any decision, their plans regarding both the Ashes and now the ODI series have had to be altered. Malan (below, right) has already impressed in whiteball cricket for England, scoring 78 from 44 balls on his T20 debut against South Africa at Cardiff last June.

He has since graduated to Test cricket and Malan took his chance in Perth by scoring England’s first hundred of the series.

The decision to replace Stokes in the one-day side with a batsman highlights just how difficult it has been to cover for his absence. His place in the Test team was taken by bowlers, first by Steven Finn and then Tom Curran. Stokes is still sweating on both the Crown Prosecution Service decision and cricket’s disciplinary commission – but he will be allowed to enter the IPL auction in the New Year.