Ben Stokes not guaranteed England return, says Trevor Bayliss
Friday 19 January 2018 05:10, UK
Ben Stokes is not guaranteed to walk back into the England team upon his return, says head coach Trevor Bayliss.
The 26-year-old has been cleared to play for England by the ECB in the T20 series in New Zealand in February, but has not featured for his country following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September.
The Durham and England all-rounder's appearance in court will come at the same time as England take on New Zealand in the first T20 match at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Bayliss has made it clear he would give great thought to a decision to recall Stokes.
"From the coach or selector's point of view, there's nothing better than having a difficult decision like that," Bayliss said.
"Is he up to speed and will he be right, in a good enough space from a playing point of view to make it back into the team?
"If we play well in these next four games and we win, it might be very, very difficult for him to come straight back in. In the last couple of years you probably wouldn't have been able to say that but where this team have got to - this one-day team - is a great position to be in.
"One of the reasons that we have been successful in the one-day game is because we have more than 11 blokes competing for 11 spots," Bayliss added.
