England planning for Ashes without Ben Stokes say captain Joe Root

Sport360 staff 17:01 27/10/2017
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  • All-rounder Stokes will not fly out with the rest of the squad to Australia on Saturday, having been suspended following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September.

    The 26-year-old vice-captain remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.

    Stokes, who also suffered a broken finger, has not been ruled out of the five-match Test series which begins in Brisbane on November 23, but he is out of consideration for selection until further notice.

    England captain Root has yet to name his vice-captain for the tour, but revealed that is also a discussion that will take place down under.

    “We’ll sit down and come to that conclusion over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

    “I think (Stokes joining the squad) is something we can look at when it’s a possibility. We’ve got to make sure we plan and prepare as a squad and look to approach it as if this is our team going out there for the tour.

    “We can’t look at what is out of our hands, we want to get out there and get our teeth into the cricket.”

    The Bristol incident prompted accusations of a drinking culture among the England team, something which Root denies.

    However the 26-year-old batsman, embarking on his first Ashes tour as skipper, did promise there would be no repeat.

    “We will sit down and make sure nothing like this happens again, we know it wasn’t good enough,” he added.

    “I don’t think there is a drinking culture but we will address the issue, we are grown men and we will make sure things like this don’t happen again.”

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