Ben Stokes will play no part in England’s final two ODIs against the West Indies following his arrest for an alleged assault in Bristol.
The 26-year-old has been a talking point all summer thanks to his impressive form, which included a knock of 73 runs in the weekend’s third one-day.
Sadly, the debate has now gone from focusing on whether he can establish himself as the best ODI all-rounder in the world to what exactly England are going to do about a player who is quickly becoming a regular problem.
The timing of the incident is particularly poor considering that the ECB will announce their Ashes squad on Wednesday.
Director of cricket Andrew Strauss insisted in his statement that this week’s events would not be taken into account. “Selectors have been instructed to select the Ashes squad based on form and fitness as they normally would do,” was the official message given to the media.
Yet, this is far from his first misdemeanour. Plenty of onlookers sympathised with Kagiso Rabada when the South African fast bowler was banned for swearing at the Durham man, as the general feeling was that he was provoked.
In 2016, Stokes was warned he could face jail if he broke a driving ban for speeding at 75mph in a 50 zone. Just a few months later, he was in more hot water, this time on the pitch, for making “inappropriate” comments during a Test against India. Stokes objected to the celebrations of Ravi Jadeja and his team-mates following his dismissal and his reaction was found to be in breach of Level One of the ICC’s Code of Conduct.
He is currently one demerit point away from a suspension, having totalled up three points in a little over a year.
Were Stokes not such an instrumental part of Trevor Bayliss’ set-up, the consequences to his actions might be more final. His latest behaviour is nonetheless unbecoming of an England’s vice-captain.
Team-mate Alex Hales, who spent Sunday night with Stokes and missed training today, has been helping police with their enquiries voluntarily and will also miss out on Wednesday’s game at the Oval. On the cusp of the Test squad once again, this is far from ideal for the Nottinghamshire batsman.
It is not purely in cricket terms that Stokes has started to be compared with previous greats like Sir Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff. At least Freddie waited until after 2005, the Ashes series when he had secured legendary status, before some of his more ridiculous transgressions.
Stokes is yet to fall off a pedalo, but he is in danger of being dethroned from the pedestal he has been placed on this summer. How disappointing, that when another top-class all-rounder emerges, England are having to manage his personality as much as his game.
There is a fieriness to him that is inspiring to watch and is quite possibly what sets him apart from so many of his peers. This is not how that side to his character ought to be manifesting itself and it’s as much to his own detriment as to his country’s.
