Stokes named in England ODI squad to face New Zealand

London: England have announced the squad for their one-day international series in New Zealand, with the familiar sight of Ben Stokes’s inclusion accompanied by the caveat of his impending court case.

The five-match series begins on 25 February – 12 days after Stokes is due at Bristol Magistrates to face a charge of affray.

Following his court date on 13 February, Stokes is due to fly out to New Zealand to join the Twenty20 squad in the Trans-Tasman Tri-series.

After the fifth ODI at Perth, where England secured a 12-run win over Australia to take the Gillette ODI series 4-1, the head coach, Trevor Bayliss, said he expected the all-rounder to leave for New Zealand “the next day or two” after his court appearance.

Stokes’s inclusion means there is no place for Middlesex’s Dawid Malan, who was drafted into the squad for the recently completed series with Australia as cover for the all-rounder.

The ECB had hoped Stokes would be able to play some part in the series until the Crown Prosecution Service’s investigations continued into the third week of January.

A potential comeback was then pushed back to the T20 series. The Nottinghamshire seamer Jake Ball has also been omitted.

The return of Stokes will not only help him get up to speed before the two-match Test series with New Zealand that follows -- his last competitive match was on 22 December 2017 for Canterbury – but it will also put pressure on players in the XI.

Bayliss, while stating earlier in the week that Stokes would not automatically regain his starting place, hopes his presence will light a fire under those who need to do more.

England’s 15-man squad for the ODI series against New Zealand
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (Capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Sam Billings (Kent), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Tom Curran (Surrey), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes* (Durham), David Willey (Yorkshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)