Summary England have yet to decide if Stokes will make his return to the side in third Test against India.
NOTTINGHAM (AFP) - England have yet to decide if Ben Stokes will make his return to international action in the third Test against India at Trent Bridge later this week.
The all-rounder was acquitted of affray at a trial in Bristol on Tuesday, having missed England s innings and 159-run win in the second Test at Lord s last week because it clashed with his court case.
England coach Trevor Bayliss welcomed Stokes s return to the squad on Thursday.
But neither England nor India are obliged to confirm their XIs until the toss which, weather permitting, should take place before Saturday s first day in Nottingham.
Given they are 2-0 up in a five-match series, England face a more than usually tricky decision over whether to change a winning side.
"It s good to have him back around the squad. I m happy for Ben and glad it s all over," Bayliss told reporters at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
"I haven t actually spoken to him since...but I ve got the next two days to assess where he s at."
The Australian added: "It s a good position to be in. Whether he plays or not we ve got some guys in good form in the team.
"It s a difficult decision whoever misses out, whether it s Ben or anyone else. It s a position we ve been trying to get into for a while.
"We have some good young players coming in."
Explaining how Stokes was added to the squad after the not guily verdict, Bayliss said: "It was a collective decision. Myself, the management, the captain, Andy Flower, the board -- everyone had a bit of a say and basically thought for his (Stokes s) own wellbeing it was good to get him back around the cricket.
"There s nothing automatic about selections, we ll see how he is mentally as well as physically. He s not played for a couple of weeks. It s a difficult decision to make."
Although cleared by the court both Stokes and England team-mate Alex Hales remain subject to a Cricket Discipline Commission investigation.
Stokes was not selected for any of the 2017/18 Ashes in Australia, which England lost 4-0 in his absence while attracting some unwanted off-field headlines regarding player behaviour.
"Since the (Stokes) incident we ve done a lot of work with team culture with the two captains (Test skipper Joe Root and white-ball counterpart Eoin Morgan) -- and that s ongoing," said Bayliss.
"Changes with curfews and that type of thing.
"In the past all the other teams I ve been involved with and this one, when I arrived, would treat teams like adults and they (players) will respond like it," the former Sri Lanka coach added.
"For a team on the road 11 months out of 12, we had an incident we d rather have not happened to a degree and we ve thought we needed to do something different.
"There were a couple of small indiscretions in Australia after that incident and I think the players have finally woken up. They ve learnt their lesson and the way they go about their profession has been top class."
