The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have finally given green signal to their star all-rounder Ben Stokes for the selection in the national squad. ECB confirmed the news on Wednesday.
Stokes had not been considered for selection in the national squad as the Police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were reviewing the case against him relating to an incident outside a Bristol nightclub last September. He was arrested for doubt of causing actual bodily harm after the incident and the CPS and Police announced on Monday that he has, along with two others, subsequently been charged with a brawl.
Also read: Ben Stokes charged with affray in Bristol brawl
The ECB congregated via teleconference call on Tuesday to take a decision over Stokes’s availability for England in the upcoming series. Having not considered Stokes since September, they will have no doubt been aware that they would be opening themselves up to charges of disparity for not picking Ben when he was yet to be charged and changing that decision now that he has been.
However, the ECB was also informed of treating Stokes fairly as the flamboyant all-rounder had confirmed via a statement on Twitter on Monday that he would be contesting the charges and was “keen to have an opportunity to clear my name”. The Board also would not have wanted to be challenged of any inhibition of position in relation to Stokes which is part of the idea he was given a no-objection certificate (NOC) to play for Canterbury in New Zealand’s domestic competition late last year.
ECB’s statement read: “Following a full Board discussion, in which all considerations were taken into account, the ECB Board has agreed that Ben Stokes should now be considered for England selection. Given the CPS decision to charge him and two others with affray, confirmation of his intention to contest the charge and the potential length of time to trial, the Board agreed that it would not be fair, reasonable or proportionate for Ben Stokes to remain unavailable for a further indeterminate period.”
The whole issue has been notably challenging for the ECB. It’s all been rather “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” with a plethora of circumstances to consider including the image of the sport, the legal viewpoints as well as cricketer safeguarding and well-being issues. While this decision may give rise to allegations of confused thinking given Stokes’s previous non-selection, it is far from an easy situation for all affected.
Also read: ECB cleared stokes for IPL
Stokes has already missed two ODIs against Windies and the five-match Ashes Test series as well as the start of the ODI series against Australia which began last week. England’s team management and players have been informed of the ECB’s decision and the board is expecting Stokes to join up with the squad in New Zealand in February for the extension of the T20 tri-series which also involves Australia.
The all-rounder has also registered himself for next week’s IPL players’ mega auction 2018 and the ECB’s decision will mean that he will go into the cash-rich league with some competitive cricket behind him. Despite this decision, the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission will conduct their own internal disciplinary process against Stokes and batsman Alex Hales in the incident.
