Melbourne: Ben Stokes is likely to be given permission to sign a multimillion pound contract in the Indian Premier League next year even if he is still suspended from England duty.
The full executive board of the England and Wales Cricket Board will make the final decision on whether Stokes can play in the IPL but, after giving him permission recently to join Canterbury in New Zealand, it will be hard to deny him a payday in India.
The ECB’s board will weigh up the potential damage to the game’s reputation by allowing a player to earn money playing in the world’s most high-profile cricket tournament while still on suspension from international duty.
England have missed the Durham all-rounder, who was left out of the touring party after his arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm outside a Bristol nightclub in September.
There had been hopes he might be able to rejoin Joe Root’s side, but, with the Crown Prosecution Service yet to make a decision on whether to charge him, Stokes returned home from New Zealand yesterday, ending any lingering hopes he might feature.
England go into the fourth Test on Boxing Day already 3-0 down and facing a whitewash but while Australia have already won the series, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is braced for a world-record Test crowd of more than the 91,112 who turned out for the last Ashes Boxing Day Test in 2013.
James Anderson, in his column for The Sunday Telegraph today, reveals he raised with umpires the Australians targeting England’s tail-enders with bouncers, but was given short shrift.
Speaking about Stokes, Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, said: “I imagine having given him an NOC [non objection certificate] to play in New Zealand, it will be difficult for us to say on balance that we would not apply the same thinking to playing in other parts of the world. But the NOC is based on a particular tournament. If we want board backing for a decision such as this — and this has been hugely complicated and board backing for a decision of this magnitude might not be a bad idea — then the implications of it [the game’s reputation] is something we have to work out.”
The decision to allow Stokes to play in New Zealand was taken by an ECB subcommittee appointed by Colin Graves, the chairman, but a future decision will now be taken by the full board because of its importance.
Once the CPS has decided whether to charge Stokes or not, the ECB’s board will take 48 hours to decide what to do next. He is facing charges from a Cricket Disciplinary Commission but that is on hold while any criminal matters take their course, which Harrison has been advised could take up to 12 months.
“From a board position it is about disrepute and reputation of the game. That is what the board has to protect,” said Harrison. “The CDC process is about disrepute and cricket related charges which has to wait until after the criminal proceedings have happened. If the indications are accurate we have been told any likely situation could be six-12 months away,” he added.
The IPL auction has been set for Jan 28 and 29 with salary caps for the franchises increased by 20 per cent after the league signed a new pounds 2.8 billion broadcast deal. Stokes earned pounds 1.7 million this year playing for Pune Supergiants and can expect to be one of the biggest draws in the auction.
Harrison arrived in Australia on Friday and has given his backing to Trevor Bayliss, the head coach, saying there will be no “rash” decision despite England losing the Ashes.
“We are in a process of delivering cricket across all three formats,” he said. “We are winning 70 per cent or so of white-ball matches and in Tests we are finding it is difficult for us to win overseas. We have to look at that.”
