London: Ben Stokes is in line to play in the third Test against India after being recalled to the squad following his acquittal on a charge of affray on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old New Zealand-born all-rounder, who took six wickets in the first Test victory over India but missed the second Test due to the trial, was found not guilty by a unanimous decision by the jury in Bristol after less than three hours of deliberations.
“Ben Stokes will now join the England squad for the third Test against India, which starts at Trent Bridge on Saturday,” read the statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
However, Stokes and team-mate Alex Hales — who was with him when the brawl took place outside the club in Bristol, southwest England, on September 25 last year but was not charged — could still face bans.
“Now that the legal proceedings have concluded, the disciplinary process for Ben Stokes and Alex Hales can be scheduled by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC),” the ECB added in their statement.
“Considerable detail has been heard in this week-long court case and, in due course, there will be a range of matters for the Board to fully consider.”
Stokes is one of English cricket’s most highly prized assets — a ‘three-in-one cricketer’, who can change the course of any match.
That is why England, in purely cricket terms, will be so relieved he is in the clear.
When Stokes is in their XI England look a balanced team, with the 27-year-old Durham star able to be deployed as a third seamer, while his ability to score runs quickly makes him well-suited to a middle-order batting berth. He is also a top-class fielder.
Prior to the second Test against India at Lord’s, which Stokes missed because it clashed with his trial, England coach Trevor Bayliss underlined his worth to the team by saying: “It will be interesting to see who can step up and take his place.
Tellingly, the Australian added: “Someone, or two or three guys, will have to step up and do the extra yards.”
He was also left out of the third Test starting Saturday.
Stokes’s relish for the big stage was evident by the way he bowled England to a 31-run win over India in the first Test at Edgbaston earlier this month, with two wickets in an over, including the prize scalp of India captain and star batsman Virat Kohli, proving decisive.
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, Stokes came to northwest England in 2003 after his father Ged was appointed coach of the Workington rugby league side.
Some of Stokes’s cricketing ability was inherited from his mother, Deborah, as his father explained.
“Deb was a very good cricketer and I was okay,” Ged Stokes told the Daily Mirror in May 2015.
“She was still playing right up to carrying Ben, and I’m sure that’s why he came out as an all-rounder, because she was as well,” he added.
