Ben Stokes to now travel to New Zealand to join the England squad

[MenInG]

An ECB spokesperson said: “Having entered his plea at Bristol Magistrates Court today, Ben Stokes will now travel to New Zealand to join the England squad.

“He departs tomorrow, Wednesday 14 February, and will arrive on Friday 16 February, ready to train with England team mates in Hamilton.

“Any decision to include him in upcoming matches will be made by Head Coach Trevor Bayliss and the England management team. He is not currently being considered for the ongoing International T20 Tri-Series.

“ECB fully respects his right to defend himself in court and any obligations he has within the legal process will always take precedence over England commitments.

“It has been confirmed that he will not be required to return to the UK for the first hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Monday 12 March

 

[khalil1986]

Aren't England already out of the tournament.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

No idea as to why they are sending stokes right now. It's not like they are missing him dearly since even though they are losing, they haven't been abysmal or anything. Better for England to try even more players in their middle order and give them a chance to make a case for the WC next year. Sending him to NZ would ensure more controversy follows the squad in NZ and until all this court hearings are done, best to keep him out of the team.

 

[HitWicket]

Aren't England already out of the tournament.

Still got 1 game left which if we win and Australia beat NZ we can still go through to the final. He's not coming over for the T20s though, coming for the ODIs after it.

 

[Lefthanded]

Complete mismanagement from ECB. Why couldn't they just have him play the Ashes then?

 

[JattMaula]

Lock up your men NZ. Street fighter is returning home.

 

[Convict]

Complete mismanagement from ECB. Why couldn't they just have him play the Ashes then?

Him playing in the Ashes would have been a pathetic joke and destroyed any credibility the ECB had.

And would have been extremely messy with the Australian media and crowds going after him.

 

[Lefthanded]

Him playing in the Ashes would have been a pathetic joke and destroyed any credibility the ECB had.

And would have been extremely messy with the Australian media and crowds going after him.

And this return has no affect on ECB's credibility? Even the chairman didn't want to suspend him if he got off the affray charge. They're flying out a dude who isn't even going to bother being in the same continent where he's being tried for a serious offence that could lead to jail time.

What kind of precedent does this set?

I take your point about the messiness though.

 

[Hasan123]

Lol him making the squad everytime at the moment seems to be breaking news. Once the trial is over and he is punished,England will select him.

 

[HitWicket]

Lol him making the squad everytime at the moment seems to be breaking news. Once the trial is over and he is punished,England will select him.

He flew out to New Zealand to join up with the squad today...

 

[Hasan123]

He flew out to New Zealand to join up with the squad today...

Looking likely he will play than.

 

[shaz619]

His victim was almost killed and this guy is given the golden boy treatment but KP refused to be a yes man and they demonize one of their all time greats because of their ego's and insecurities much like many pathetic England fans.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Bayliss won't rush Stokes back into England ODI team

Stokes indicated a plead of not guilty to a charge of affray at Bristol magistrates' court on Tuesday and will join his England team mates this week in Hamilton ahead of their five-match series starting Feb. 25.

Bayliss said Stokes, who will miss the Twenty20 game against the Kiwis on Sunday, needs to get back up to speed before he can feature in the starting 11.

"He hasn't played for a while," Bayliss told reporters. "It is not as if we can maybe bring him straight back for these T20s, for example.

"We have got to get him up to speed and hopefully during this one-day series we can get him back into the team.

"At this stage I'd have to say it was unlikely (he'll play the first ODI). We'll have to wait and see how he is with travel, with practice."

Stokes, one of world cricket's most destructive batsmen, last played a competitive match for Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic T20 competition last December.

His absence was not necessarily felt during England's 4-1 ODI series win against Australia. However, that success has been followed by three consecutive T20 failures, with two losses against Australia and on Tuesday against New Zealand.

"Right throughout the summer we've been down to five bowlers, especially in the one-dayers and T20s," Bayliss added.

"We've been able to have six bowlers before, which gives the captain plenty of different options. I think that's what we've missed the most apart from his individual performances."

Stokes is expected to feature in England's two tests against New Zealand at Auckland and Christchurch next month.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/bayliss-won-t-rush-stokes-back-into-england-odi-team

 

[Robert]

Him playing in the Ashes would have been a pathetic joke and destroyed any credibility the ECB had.

And would have been extremely messy with the Australian media and crowds going after him.

Would have just fired him up on the field.

 

[Convict]

Would have just fired him up on the field.

There is more to cricket than just on field performances.

 

[Abdullah719]

Stokes to return for first England-New Zealand ODI

Wellington: Ben Stokes is set to return to international cricket on Sunday when England play their first one-day international against New Zealand in Hamilton.

The star all-rounder, who had been sidelined since his arrest following a nightclub incident last September, rejoined the England squad in New Zealand last week after pleading not guilty in the Bristol magistrate’s court to a charge of affray.

Although England have not yet named their side for the first ODI, and Stokes is short of match practice, captain Eoin Morgan suggested Saturday he would be in the line-up.

“He looks in great nick, he’s hit the ground running since he’s been involved and he’s been himself, which is great to see,” Morgan said.

“He might be better for the more games he does play and feel more comfortable coming back … it is his first game in quite a long time.”

Stokes has had long net sessions since his arrival and was said to be middling the ball well with the bat and bowling at maximum effort.

Along with Stokes, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Jonny Bairstow are also back in the England squad after missing the recent tri-nations Twenty20 series in which Australia beat New Zealand in the final.

New Zealand have won just one of their last seven Twenty20 matches and only edged England out of the final on the strength of a superior run rate, and will be looking to turn their fortunes with the change of format.

“It’s a different group this one-day squad. We’ve played some good one-day cricket,” said coach Mike Hesson with the home side having enjoyed a golden run in recent months with a 3-0 ODI series win against the West Indies and beating Pakistan 5-0.

But Hesson said his side knows they will have to be at their best to match England.

“They (England) are aggressive from ball one with the bat. That in itself means we’ve got to keep taking wickets.

“Their whole (batting) order from one to nine keep coming hard out and obviously Ben (Stokes) is one of those. We can’t only focus on one player because they’ve got plenty of good ones.”

Morgan believed that how England adapted to New Zealand conditions would be crucial to the outcome of the five-match series.

“They’ve been on a run, have got a good well-balanced side and play extremely well at home,” he said.

“I mentioned before we bowled a ball in Australia that these two series we were going to play have the potential to expose some of the weaknesses of our side.

“We’ve got to be open to learning and improving on those weaknesses as we go along. Australia was a tough series and New Zealand are going to be no different.”

Morgan felt England’s ODI batting had taken “a backward step” in Australia while their bowling had strengthened in the past year.

“You can win a lot of games certainly with the bat, but restricting how many you chase down or controlling a game with the ball is so powerful. (PTI)

https://www.ibcworldnews.com/2018/02/24/stokes-to-return-for-first-england-new-zealand-odi/

 

[KingKhanWC]

ECB are not setting a good example here. The England players have been in the news for bad behaviour many times recently and this will only lead to such to more trouble.

Stokes in theory could be sent to prison especially as he has decided to plead not guilty which is hard to understand with video evidence. A violent convict should need rehab before waltzing back in the team.
[MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] [MENTION=1842]James[/MENTION] do you agree?

 

[Hamad_H]

ECB are not setting a good example here. The England players have been in the news for bad behaviour many times recently and this will only lead to such to more trouble.

Stokes in theory could be sent to prison especially as he has decided to plead not guilty which is hard to understand with video evidence. A violent convict should need rehab before waltzing back in the team.
[MENTION=7774]Robert[/MENTION] [MENTION=1842]James[/MENTION] do you agree?

I think ECB are a little bit desperate for trying to bring him back ASAP but this case is different. His case is different to Duckett's and Bairstow's or Flintoff's in the past as it is a prison worthy sentence so the previous bad behaviour is not really relevant in this case. However that being said, I think ECB has thought about the chance of prison and maybe they feel like it is unlikely because apparently he was defending two gay people who were being threatened by two other people with homophobic insults and they felt at danger of an assault so it could be seen as a form of self defence as he was with those people at the time so maybe the not guilty plea is based on that.

I remember when the two gay people's interview was released there was a twitter hashtag supporting his actions so socially, what he did is accepted with him even being labelled as a hero. I think he'll get community service and a large fine considering the fact he is also an England national player with a big IPL contract so he can afford a big fine and he'll get community service. Rooney got 100 hours but I don't know whether Stokes will get more since his crime was affray.