The England all-rounder has regained his place in the England picture for the third Test against India at Trent Bridge, after being cleared of affray by Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday.
The charges were brought against Ben Stokes after an incident which occurred on September 25 of last year. Stokes was seen on camera trading blows with a fellow nightclubber after a night out in Bristol, although reasons behind the altercation were unclear from the CCTV footage.
Now he has been cleared by the Courts, the Cricket Discipline Commission will now start a disciplinary process for Stokes, as well as his England team-mate Alex Hales, who was also involved in the altercation.
Stokes stated that the incident was self-defence and was coming to the aid of two gay men when the incident occurred last September. The jury took under three hours to find Stokes and fellow defendant Ryan Ali not guilty, following a seven-day trial.
Although receiving a call up back to the England squad, Durham have confirmed he will take no part in their T20 Blast Fixture against Derbyshire on Friday.
Apart from the addition of Ben Stokes, England’s 13-man squad will remain unchanged from the 2nd Test. Playing in place of Ben Stokes was Warwickshire’s Chris Woakes, who hit his maiden Test Century in a crushing triumph by an innings and 159 runs.
Woakes also managed to dismiss Indian captain Virat Kohli in taking 2-19 in the first innings, before managing to add another two wickets in the second.
With Stokes being called up, the big question surrounding the England squad will be who will make place at Trent Bridge?
Potentially, Sam Curran could lose his place even after being named man-of-the-match in the first Test at Edgbaston, while Chris Woakes is another potential loss.
