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Ben Stokes has been charged with affray
Avon and Somerset police confirmed that Stokes is due to appear at Bristol magistrates’ court on February 13 to face the charge of affray, following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September.
But only hours earlier, in Brisbane, England head coach Trevor Bayliss was all smiles as he said that his talismanic all-rounder would be “welcomed back with open arms” following the ECB’s decision to make him available for selection once more.
To add to the sense that Stokes is now never out of the news, he was named in the International Cricket Council’s Test and one-day teams of the year for 2017.
But it is possible that Stokes could yet appear as planned for England in the T20 international in New Zealand on February 13 if he is not obliged by the court to appear in person in court and is allowed to enter a plea ‘in absentia’.
In a statement this week, Stokes, who has not played for England since the Bristol incident in September, vowed to clear his name in court.
Bayliss has spent much of the winter looking frustrated and exasperated as one controversy after another rocked his team.
First, there was Stokes outside the Bristol nightclub, then there was the bizarre Jonny Bairstow head-butt incident that the Australians used to undermine England here at the Gabba in Brisbane and then there was England Lions batsman Ben Duckett throwing a drink over Jimmy Anderson’s head.
Bayliss was looking forward to having one of his team’s prize assets is available for selection once more while knowing full well that the criminal proceedings would take precedence at some stage.
When Stokes does return, he is not guaranteed a place in the side anyway, according to Bayliss.
“It’ll be a difficult decision – having not played for so long, is he up to speed and will he be right, in a good enough space from a playing point of view to make it back into the team?” said Bayliss.
“If we play well in these next four games and we win, it might be very, very difficult for him to come straight back in. In the last couple of years you probably wouldn’t have been able to say that but where this team have got to – this one-day team – is a great position to be in.”
Stokes took himself off to New Zealand – the country of his birth – before Christmas and played six matches for Canterbury in Kiwi domestic cricket and could do something similar before joining up with the England squad again.
In the coming days, Bayliss will discuss with the selectors and England director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, the best course of action to get Stokes match fit.
Bayliss insists that there is “no bitterness” within the squad that Stokes’ actions and subsequent absence effected their shot at the Ashes.
He said: “I’m sure he’s disappointed in his actions and disappointed that it has cost him – he’ll never be able to get this series back because it’s probably the biggest series for any English or Australian player.
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Ben Stokes’ court hearing is the same date England play New Zealand
“The other players are fully aware of that point as well but there are no personal grudges against Ben.”
Bayliss denied that he was shielding Stokes from the greater scrutiny he would receive in Australia by holding back his reintegration until the New Zealand leg of the tour.
He said: “I don’t think it will be any different wherever he plays. I’m sure there will be a lot of scrutiny when he gets back on the field.
“It was more about getting him up to speed and how long that might take. We’ve played one good game and some of the players playing in that have done well over that game and the last few games against West Indies. It was more about making sure he is right to go. You don’t necessarily want him to come in if he is not up to speed.”
The coach hopes that the fall-out from that night in Bristol in the middle of the one-day series against West Indies has taught the players important lessons about off-field behaviour.
“They have all learnt their lesson,” said Bayliss. “As a mate and obviously as an important member of the team, they are looking forward to having him back.
“From my point of view it was firstly about [the players] being out when they were. Some of the other guys have already been punished for that. Obviously with the incident that occurred and the footage it was only right that those decisions were made and it was fully understood why.”