England lift suspension on Alex Hales after batsman is not charged for involvement in Ben Stokes incident

Police have informed the ECB that Hales will face no criminal charges, and so he will now be considered for England selection again

Alex Hales will now be considered by England once again (Getty)

The England and Wales Cricket Board have lifted their suspension on Alex Hales for his part in the Bristol altercation involving Ben Stokes in September. Police have informed the ECB that Hales will face no criminal charges, and so he will now be considered for England selection again, with the one-day series against Australia in January his likeliest return date.

The significance of this move is that it indicates what is likely to occur in the event that any case against Stokes is also dropped. As soon as they received confirmation that Hales would not be charged, the ECB board convened via conference call and decided to lift his suspension, allowing him to play immediately. Should Stokes be cleared, he could therefore be playing for England within a matter of days.

What complicates the matter is that Hales is being treated as a witness in the Stokes case. Because of this, the ECB’s independent Cricket Discipline Commission has delayed the start of any internal disciplinary process until after the Stokes case has concluded, in order to avoid prejudicing any potential criminal trial.

Thus, the CDC will decide on the fates of both Stokes and Hales at the same time. And so Stokes is not guaranteed to be cleared for selection even if charges against him are dropped, for the CDC could yet decide to impose their own sanction that would prevent him from featuring in the current Ashes series.

Meanwhile, the ECB have cleared Hales to play in the inaugural Ten10 Cricket League in Dubai from December 21. Stokes remains in New Zealand as he continues his return to cricket with Canterbury, and could in theory apply for a No Objection Certificate to play in this season’s Big Bash, which begins on 19 December.

But given the potential embarrassment of their best-known player appearing in domestic cricket in Australia at the same time as his team-mates are playing in the Ashes, it appears unlikely the ECB would grant any such request