Ben Stokes selection not guaranteed, says Trevor Bayliss

Head coach Trevor Bayliss said he was glad to have Ben Stokes back in the squad for the third Test against India after the England allrounder was found not guilty of affray this week, but added his selection was not assured.

England are 2-0 up in the five-match series heading to Trent Bridge on Saturday with man-of-the-match displays from Sam Curran and Chris Woakes in the first two games leaving Bayliss with a tough decision to make.

“It’s good to have him back around the squad. I’m happy for Ben and glad it’s all over,” said Bayliss. “I haven’t actually spoken to him; I’m sure he’s had plenty of phone calls. We’ve got the next couple of days to assess where he’s at.

“It was a collective decision [to bring Stokes back into the squad]; myself, management, the captain, Andy Flower, Ed Smith, the board. Everyone had a bit of a say and basically thought that for his own well being, it was good to get him back around cricket.

“There is nothing automatic about selection. It’s a good position to be in, as we’ve got some guys in form in the team. It’s going to be a difficult decision to make, whoever misses out, whether that is Ben or someone else.

“It’s a position we’ve been trying to get to in the Test team for quite a while. The one-day team is a difficult team to select; the Test team has been difficult for other reasons. But we’re starting to get some good, young players come into the team, which makes the job of the selectors difficult.”

“We’ll see how Ben is mentally, as well as physically, as he hasn’t played for a couple of weeks. But he is a guy who in the past has been able to come in and perform without having played a lot of cricket.”

Bayliss went on to call on Stokes to make a public apology, adding he had already addressed the team to that effect and agreed he should do so to a wider audience.

“Certainly,” Bayliss said. “I think it was important to apologise to the boys in the team, management of the team and management at the ECB, who had to go through a lot of extra activities to work our way through it.”

Stokes played in England’s first Test win at Edgbaston, taking three of the five wickets to fall on the final day to see the hosts to a thrilling 31-run win, but missed the innings-and-159-run hammering of India at Lord’s while on trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Following an incident outside a Bristol nightclub on September 25 last year, Stokes was suspended from the England team, missing the 2017-18 Ashes series, before returning earlier this year. He was charged with affray in January, but was found not guilty when the verdict was returned on Tuesday.

Bayliss added the players are aware of their responsibilities as England cricketers and had “woken up” after working hard to change the image of the team culture following the Stokes affair.

“Certainly since Bristol, there has been a lot of work done on team culture with the two captains. That is ongoing,” said Bayliss.

“We’ve certainly had to make one or two changes, with curfews and that type of thing. With all other teams I’ve been involved with, and certainly this team when I first arrived, my philosophy is to treat people like adults and they will respond like adults.

“Certainly since a couple of small indiscretions in Australia after that incident, I think the players have finally woken up. They have learned their lesson, and the way they go about their professionalism off the field, as well as on, has been top class since.

“They’ve always understood that their responsibility. But they’re all human beings. One or two guys have made a mistake that I’m sure that they are disappointed about, they’ve been honest about and so we move on.”

(c) Sky News 2018: Ben Stokes selection not guaranteed, says Trevor Bayliss