England coach Trevor Bayliss hopeful 'mad man' Ben Stokes escapes ban for West Indies tour

The 27-year-old has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the England & Wales Cricket Board

England coach Trevor Bayliss has hailed the influence of ‘mad man’ Ben Stokes during the Test series whitewash in Sri Lanka and expressed his hope that the all-rounder will not be banned for the tour of the Caribbean early next year when he faces a Cricket Discipline Commission hearing next week.

The 27-year-old and Alex Hales have both been charged with bringing the game into disrepute by the England & Wales Cricket Board for their involvement in a street brawl in Bristol last year that took place during the one-day series against the West Indies.

Stokes was cleared of affray at Bristol Crown Court back in August, while Hales was not charged with any offence.

Both, though, could receive cricketing sanctions when they have their cases heard by an independent three-man CDC panel led by Tim O’Gorman in London next week.

The hearings will take place over two days, with the panel’s verdict expected at the conclusion of the process on Friday.

Both players face a range of sanctions if found guilty, with playing bans a possibility. Stokes missed 11 one-day internationals and five Ashes Tests in Australia while waiting to be charged by the Crown Prosecution Service. He also sat out last summer’s Lord’s Test against India, which clashed with his trial. Hales missed two ODIs.

It is not known whether those matches will be taken into account by the panel if they do hand down sanctions.

However, Bayliss hopes Stokes will be available for the full tour of the West Indies, which starts in January and includes three Tests, five ODIs and three T20s.

The Australian insists Stokes is a changed man since the incident in Bristol and has not been affected by the impending hearing during his time in Sri Lanka, where he played a major role in England’s first overseas Test series whitewash in 55 years.

Stokes was England's standout seamer once again (REUTERS) (Reuters)

“It hasn’t affected him,” said Bayliss. “I haven’t heard it mentioned once around the changing room. I hope he’s available for our next game. I think he’s certainly learned a lesson since that time. The way he’s conducted himself since he has come back into the fold has been exemplary.”

Stokes was hugely influential in Sri Lanka, where he took nine catches and completed two run over the course of the three Tests. He also turned the final one in Colombo with a brilliant three-wicket spell on the second day that saw Sri Lanka collapse from 173 for one to 240 all out in their first innings.

His extraordinary commitment was there for all to see late on the third day of that Test, too, when he chased down one of his own deliveries right down to the boundary rope.

“He’s a mad man!” joked Bayliss. “To see him bowl the ball and then chase it all the way to wide mid-on to save it - that’s commitment, that. How many other blokes would you see in the world do that? No-one. And that just says a lot.

“I got into the lift on Sunday night [the evening of day three of the Colombo Test] after dinner and he was getting out. He’d just come back from the gym! That’s how hard he works at his game and he deserves everything he gets from the game.”

England are taking Stokes' lead (Getty Images)

Stokes is also a player the rest of the team follow and Bayliss believes he is the best in the world right now.

“The team at different times definitely take his lead,” he said.

“You can throw the ball to him, you can put him in any situation with the bat, you can put him where the ball is coming in the field. For me, he’s the first pick. His averages may not be the greatest in each of his positions. But you add those three disciplines together, it adds up to one hell of a player.”

England have risen to No 2 in the world Test rankings following their success in Sri Lanka and it is a series victory that Bayliss believes will fill this group of players with belief ahead of a year that includes a home Ashes series against Australia next summer.

“It gives the guys a lot of confidence I’m sure,” he said. “To win away from home - as you’re fully aware in the last few years - has been very difficult for most teams in the world.

“So, to come here and win in those conditions, the guys I’m sure will have that confidence. We’ve got a big summer coming up, but that confidence of that adaptability and being able to assess the conditions and being able to play accordingly will be valuable.”