Allrounder Ben Stokes has been provisionally included in England's 16-man squad for a five-match one-day international series against Australia in January. Stokes, currently playing for Canterbury in New Zealand, and Alex Hales have not been in action for England since Sept. 24 after they were declared unavailable for international selection until further notice.
Stokes is not currently part of England's ongoing Ashes Test tour as he waits to discover if he will be charged after his arrest on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm during a late-night incident in Bristol, England.
Hales, also present during the incident outside a nightclub following England's ODI win over the West Indies the previous day, will not face any charges.
"Selectors were given clear guidance to name their strongest squad and have made their selections accordingly," an England and Wales Cricket Board statement said Wednesday. "Both Alex Hales and Ben Stokes are included, though their involvement remains subject to any relevant legal or disciplinary developments in relation to the incident in Bristol in September."
England coach Trevor Bayliss said after his side's second-Test Ashes loss in Adelaide on Wednesday that he has no idea when Stokes would be returning, if at all.
"I've got absolutely no idea. Still waiting for the police report," Bayliss said. "Whenever he comes back that's going to be a bit of a circus. Whether it's any more of a circus than it's already been, it's hard to say. If it happens, let's just get on with it and take it on the chin."
Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Jake Ball are the only members of England's Test squad who will stay on for the one-day series which begins Jan. 14 in Melbourne.
Australia lead the five-Test Ashes series 2-0 with the third test in Perth set to start on Dec. 14.
England ODI squad:
Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
