Monday 19 March 2018 10:03, UK
ECB director of cricket Andrew Strauss has praised Ben Stokes' courage and determination ahead of England's upcoming two-match Test series against New Zealand.
On Monday, the 26-year-old pleaded not guilty to affray following an incident in Bristol on September 25. which saw him miss the Ashes after being suspended from playing for the national side.
But, Strauss believes the Durham all-rounder will remind everyone of his talents on the field when he plays his first competitive red-ball match for England in over six months.
"It has been a pretty fraught time for him and everyone involved in the situation," Strauss told Sky Sports News.
"It has been a very difficult one for us to deal with but thankfully I think we're through it now.
"Ben's doing what he does best, he's representing England with an unbelievable amount of courage, passion, determination and motivation.
"He is going to put in some more match-winning performances over the coming months and remind everyone, I suppose, of what he can do in an England shirt."
Stokes' trial date, August 6, is set to clash with England's Test at Lord's against India, in a busy summer period for the national side.
However, despite the clash Strauss is confident that the all-rounder will still play an important role for the hosts against the world's number one Test side.
"We have obviously got to sit down at the beginning of the summer and plan how we are going to react to that situation," he said.
"It is far from ideal that he [Stokes] is going to be missing that Lord's Test match but I still think he has got a full role to play this summer.
"I am sure he will be very keen to get everything out of the way and have his opportunity to tell his side of the story but that is still quite a long way away in the distance.
"Prior to that, there is still a lot of cricket still to be played and some really important cricket to win."
