Ben Stokes Will Play For England In The Ashes, Says Graeme Swann

Ben Stokes Will Play For England In The Ashes, Says Graeme Swann

Former England spinner Grame Swann said that he believes Ben Stokes will play in the Ashes. “I can’t see any reason where he’s not,” he said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo. Stokes has been banned from playing for England by the England and Wales Cricket Board until the end of the ongoing investigation on a brawl that he was involved in. This resulted in his exclusion from the squad that are currently in Australia preparing for the Ashes.
“You know, if he’s not in court then he should be out there,” said Swann, “He’s not been charged then he should be playing for England. He’s one of the best players in the world and I fully expect him to be playing.” Swann said that the return of Ben Stokes would only make England the “favourites” in the series. “I think it pushes it towards England being favourites if I’m honest, just because of how good he is,” he said.
Stokes was England’s Test vice captain up until the incident. His all-round abilities and his sharp fielding has made him one of the most important players for England in all formats of the game. Stokes has had a chequered disciplinary record and the ECB cracked the whip after a video that allegedly shows him assaulting a man outside a pub in Bristol emerged.
“The situation, in a word, is complicated,” ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss is quoted as saying bb BBC, “There’s two different potential disciplinary procedures he has to go through, one is the ECB’s internal one and the other is any potential police action. Until we know more from the police, it’s very hard for us to put a timeline on anything. What we all want is clarity on what that situation is and how much cricket he will be missing for England. We’re keen to get into that and move this forward but we’re in the hands of the police.”
Courtesy : indianexpress