England’s controversial all-rounder Ben Stokes could be set to miss the upcoming Ashes Down Under if he remains the subject of a police investigation when the tour commences.
The star man of the English side had created headlines for the wrong reasons just recently when he was arrested for his role in a night club brawl in Bristol City, just hours after England had beaten West Indies in the third ODI.
The British Broadcasting Association (BBC) understands that the police have not put any timeline for the conclusion of the investigation against Stokes and it is not far-fetched to think that the case could take months to be resolved.
Stokes was arrested on September 25 on suspicion of causing bodily harm in the fracas which occurred at the Bristol night club in the presence of England teammate Alex Hales. The England man was released without charge but put under police investigation.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) included the 26-year-old in the Ashes squad, retaining him as the vice-captain of the side two days after the controversial incident.
Stokes has never shied away from controversies in his England career.
However, the ECB then suspended Stokes and Hales indefinitely from playing after video footage of the incident was released and started its own investigation into the fiasco.
ECB director Andrew Strauss had announced last week that the board was conducting a cricket discipline commission inquiry into the roles of both the players in the incident.
It is understood that the governing body is yet to take a call on whether to send the all-rounder to Australia and are waiting for the outcome of the police investigation before making a decision.
The first Ashes Test starts on November 23 at the Gabba with England flying out on October 28.
The next police update is not expected to arrive before mid-October at the earliest and as such, time is running out for Stokes to seal his ticket on the plane to Australia.
